January 26, 2015

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Talk about a beer buzz.

America’s craft brewers are riding a wave of success: ever-expanding craft-beer sections in supermarkets, craft-beer festivals in most major cities and even university programs in the art and business of making craft beer. In 2013, sales from craft brewers hit a record $14.3 billion—an increase of 20% from the previous year, according to the Brewers Association, a trade group. (The pace continued in 2014, with 18% growth through midyear, according to the association.)

Still, craft brewers face their share of challenges. Like many small businesses, they’re not big enough to benefit from certain economies of scale. Plus, they face challenges unique to their business, from dealing with federal, state and local laws governing the sale and production of anything alcoholic to fighting large-scale brewers for market share. (The major beer brands still control more than 90% of the U.S. beer market, as measured by volume.)

With that in mind, we asked three prominent craft brewers how their business came to be and how they rose to the challenge. Here’s what they had to say.

http://www.wsj.com/articles/craft-brew-makers-share-the-recipe-for-success-1422244837

Craft Beer Is Booming, But Brewers See Crossroads

When the term microbrewery had scarcely entered the vocabulary, Rich Doyle saw possibilities. Almost three decades ago, he became a co-founder of the Boston-based Harpoon Brewery, which has grown into the 12th-largest craft beer maker in the country.

Last July, with a stake of at least 40 percent in the business, he sensed it was the moment to make another move. He asked his partners to bring in an investor so the brewery could buy faltering competitors. And when they declined, he cashed out.

His decision reflects one side of the differing views within the industry about the direction the booming sector will take.

For those like Mr. Doyle, the current exuberance surrounding craft beer is creating a bubble of expansion that will pop and leave behind losers to be picked up on the cheap.

LINCOLN PARK — Goose Island is no longer the only Lincoln Park craft brewery whose products you can find at Chicago's liquor stores.

Atlas Brewing Co., the Lincoln Avenue-based brewpub, just launched a line of cans that is making its way to liquor stores around Chicago.

The young brewing company fired up its operations at a new South Side facility located inside the former Jay's Potato Chip factory at 99th and Cottage Grove.

Atlas's beers had primarily only been available on tap at its Lincoln Park location, 2747 N. Lincoln Ave., until earlier this month.

"It's exciting. It's scary. It's an opportunity to really turn this thing into something that can be a long-term career," said Ben Saller, who runs the brewery and brewpub with his brother John.

Rest of story here.. vhttps://www.dnainfo.com/chicago/20150727/lincoln-park/atlas-opens-brewing-plant-long-vacant-jays-chips-factory-lawndale