Jun 12, 2020 — Brewers Pivot to Survive the Pandemic, and the Future of Craft Beer Lies in the Balance

Original article from winemag.com

“Short term, the industry has hit the iceberg at midnight,” says Stephen Zagor, an adjunct professor in restaurants and food at Columbia University Business School, about the current state of the hospitality business.

Zagor estimates that 30% of the restaurants open before the novel coronavirus pandemic will go out of business, and early reports suggest that the situation might be even more dire for the craft beer industry.

Last month, a Daily Beast story quoted Brewers Association statistics suggesting that 3,600 of the U.S.’s 8,000 breweries may go out of business. In the story, headlined “Coronavirus Could Kill Craft Beer: Will Any Brands Survive?” writer Lew Bryson wondered if the estimate was too optimistic.

Bart Watson, Chief Economist of the Brewers Association, acknow...

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