According to the Brewers Association, ­2016 was a banner year for craft beer, Beall Brewery Insurance reports.

Highlights of the Year in Craft Beer

Among the highlights of the year:

• Continued growth of craft beer. There are now more than 5,000 craft breweries in the United States (compared to 10,000 wineries). And 99 percent of them are small, independent craft brewers.
• Consolidation of Big Beer. The world’s two largest brewers merged into a multinational conglomerate nearly three times the size of the entire U.S. beer market.
• The rise of beer tourism. For those of us who love craft beer, the notion of traveling to a craft beer hub is nothing new. What is new, though, is the Beer Tourism Index (created by Travelocity).
• Expanding markets. According to the Brewers Association: “Craft beer export volume increased by 16.3 percent, totaling 446,151 barrels and worth $116 million. More than 100 small and independent craft brewers export their beer internationally….”
• Beer laws. The Craft Beverage Modernization and Tax Reform Act seeks to recalibrate the current federal excise tax structure for the nation’s brewers and reform burdensome laws regulating America’s brewing industry—and more than half of Congress now supports it.

How Do These Changes Impact Your Brewery?

All of these are national—and even international—issues. And all of these developments impact your craft brewery. There is more competition than ever. Big Beer is more determined than ever to win the beer war. Marketing your beer at home and abroad is more important than ever. And proposed local, state, and federal legislation ranging from tax structure to minimum wage laws and beyond, could have a tremendous impact on your brewery.

Beer Brewery Insurance also recommends that you keep this in mind: these stories will continue to play out through the New Year (and beyond). So as you look back on your own brewery’s achievements in the last year, and look ahead to a productive and profitable new year, consider how your brewery can best benefit from changes in the industry.

For more than 25 years, Beall Financial and Insurance Services, Inc., has helped corporations and individuals protect their most important assets. The agency’s client base covers a spectrum of niche businesses, such as craft breweries, that require specialized insurance packages and knowledge. Beall Financial and Insurance Services, Inc., offers the Craft Beer Advantage, a specialty craft beer insurance program tailored for craft breweries, microbreweries, brew pubs, and contract breweries. With California offices in Redlands and Newport Beach, Beall Financial and Insurance Services serves clients nationwide.