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Craft beer lovers may focus on hops and malt, but brewers are feeling the squeeze from a less visible ingredient: metal. A new 25% tariff on imported steel and aluminum—key materials for tanks, kegs, cans, and brewing equipment—is threatening to drive up costs across the industry. In this blog, the Brewers Association’s Katie Marisic breaks down where these metals come from, how the tariffs could impact prices, and what brewers can do to brace for the economic ripple effects. If you're curious how policy decisions shape the price of your pint, this read is for you.

The craft beer industry has slowed in recent years. For the first time, more breweries are shuttering. While the industry has only slowed around 2% last year—not so dramatic—it’s a stark contrast opposed to the heyday of non-stop growth in the early 2000s. We talked to a few professionals to get their take on what's next for the industry and, despite the new challenges, where they see opportunities for the craft beer scene to evolve. 

The world of homebrewing allows for a lot of experimentation and potential. There is no shortage of new equipment to try, ingredients to experiment with, and ways to expand a homebrewing operation. We put together a list of 10 creative gift ideas that touch on all these possibilities to inspire some ideas for what to get the beer-maker friends and loved ones in your life this Christmas. 

Experimentation to achieve a particular flavor in beer is not a new thing, but adding in one of the other great beverages known to humans, in this case tea, can be as unpredictable as a game of Cards Against Humanity! Will the addition of tea fill in a blank for the hops and malt, or is it going to be a cringe-worthy moment of a throw-away card, creating a flavor disaster? Read on to find out. 

All the "must-reads" for the brewers and beer-lovers.

Even though apples are one of the most famous American fruits to eat, people don't care for them as much in a beverage. Cider makes up a meager 1 percent of the beer market. Things have changed since the beverage's heyday.

With the golden years of constant growth now a thing of the past, it's become more important for brewers to find ways to differentiate themselves, lean into what makes them different, and find other strategies to stand out in a busy marketplace.

Boil overs. Hop explosions. Leaky barrels. Yeast “poops.” Brewing, my friends, ain't for the squeaky clean—it's a gritty affair. We're not talking about playing house with some everyday cleaning supplies. No, sir. This is Fight Club for brewers, where every “janitor” is armed with a squeegee and hose to remove brewing grime. They're not playing around with your everyday household cleaners. This is taking down microbial institutions, and if the right chemical isn't used, well, let's just say there's a laundry list of calamities waiting to unfold.

In other parts of the globe, bartenders pour beer in strange and mysterious ways. Beer foam flows out of taps and bottles and to turn patrons’ glasses into science fair volcanoes with maximum head. In the US drinkers tend to steer clear of foam, but they just may be doing it wrong.