Brewers from around the state are gathering at the Rochester Public Market on Friday night for the Flour City Brewers Fest, an annual celebration of craft beers. But the festivities are taking place against a backdrop of increasingly tough times for the industry. Hundreds of craft breweries across the country closed over the past year, and many others are struggling. How are surviving brewers adjusting to the new reality of rising costs and shrinking demand? Guest host Julie Philipp talks about that with our panelists and finds out what they think the future holds.
Our guests:
• Paul Leone, executive director of the NYS Brewers Association
• Jeff Ching, managing partner at Strangebird Brewing
• Andy Cook, owner and head brewer at Swiftwater Brewing
0:00 Introduction
1:36 Inside New York’s craft beer industry
5:04 Adapting to a changing market
14:46 The economics of a pint
18:10 Rethinking beer distribution
24:52 The brewery as a destination
30:08 Building community through events
33:15 The industry’s next phase
37:18 The forces shaping craft beer
42:30 New York’s top craft beers
47:03 Inside Flower City Brewers Fest
__________________________
For more shows and information head to https://www.wxxinews.org/show/connections.
Be part of the program with questions or comments by phone at 844-295-TALK (8255), emailing connections@wxxi.org or using the chat on the live stream.
Do you have a story that needs to be shared? https://www.wxxinews.org/pitch-your-story-to-connections
__________________________
Become a member of WXXI: https://donate.wxxi.org/wxxi/connections-youtube
Never miss a headline with our daily newsletter: https://www.wxxinews.org/newsletter.
source
