The craft beverage industry across the U.S. has seen unprecedented times due to the COVID-19 pandemic. According to a national poll, more than 22% of craft brew businesses will not make it through the end of the pandemic. Though this statistic is daunting, national trends during 2020 showed that American alcohol consumption only increased by 14% according to a RAND Corporation study. Much of the nation showed the craft beer industry that if they could make a sharp pivot to off-premise beer sales—canning or bottling their beers for consumption off-site—it could keep their businesses steady, if not potentially increase their net profit in the long-term, until taprooms and consumer behavior changed again once it becomes safe to dine-in and drink on site.
When the Pennsylvania Craft Brewer study started in late 2019, we at Penn State Extension wanted to know a) what are the raw material buying habits of the craft brewers in Pennsylvania? and b) what influenced them to consider buying local inputs like hops, barley, and other grains, fruits, and other ag products (think pumpkins, blueberries, and apples) to produce their unique and delicious craft beers the nation is coming to love?
In the longer term, the mission is to help Pennsylvania producers and processors understand what they should grow and process for the craft beer industry and how they might better understand the motives and the trends of that industry. Despite the challenges of climate and soil in Pennsylvania, can producers use a higher percentage of Pennsylvania-grown products for Pennsylvania-produced craft beer?
From some of the initial findings, we were able to see that craft brewers are motivated by the importance of buying locally to the local economy* (52% from our study) and also, by the value to their business, of charging a higher premium on locally-produced beer (30% from our study).
During the pandemic, growers and processors across Pennsylvania were able to collaborate to produce a 100% Pennsylvania-grown beer. PA Pride, released in November 2020, is a hazy pale ale made with local organic spelt (Dauphin County), 2-row barley (Chester County), and generous late additions of Cascade, Citra, and Simcoe hops. PA Pride 2.0, released in February 2021, is a Bohemian style-Pilsner brewed with Pennsylvania-grown and traditionally floor-germinated 2-row barley and hard red wheat with noble Saaz hops. Both collaboration beers were produced by Deer Creek Malthouse and Breweries In Pennsylvania and distributed by over 30 Pennsylvania craft breweries.
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Categories: Pennsylvania, Business, Rural Lifestyle