Don't worry about the pie being too small

Just make a different pie

We now have about 9,500 operating breweries in the U.S. That includes packaging breweries, tasting room breweries, and brewpubs. Wow. But before you decide to stop pursuing your dream of opening a brewery because there is too much competition, let me offer up some other statistics.

There are currently over 35,000 coffee houses. A number hovering around 70,000 pizzerias. 10,000 wineries. Almost 20,000 ice cream shops. And a whopping 660,000 plus restaurants. And yet, I always see new restaurants, coffee houses and even ice cream shops opening up all the time. Wineries are generally limited to favorable climates, but there are still wineries in Alaska and Florida.

So with that perspective, 9,500 breweries in a U.S. population of 331,000,000 seems actually pretty small. still, I hear it from customers and brewers alike, that the market is getting saturated. I beg to differ.

Yes it is getting saturated if you are talking about a tasting room brewery serving up hazy IPA’s and chocolate M&M stouts, but last look at the Brewers Association’s style guidelines shows about 100 beer styles and get this; for 2023 a dessert or pastry style stout.

It’s not just the different styles of beers though that can set you apart. In fact that might be the least interesting thing.

What I am talking about is not taking another slice out of the brewery pie where you live, but to create a totally different pie. You do this buy thinking about what can you do to make your brewery different and unique?

For example years back the farm brewery came into vogue. That at the time was totally different and is still unique. I would say, a different pie altogether.

I had students years ago wanting to open a brewery in the Los Angeles area. We talked about what could make their brewery stand out in a crowded field. Well, he was Scottish, and she was a bagpipe player. I suggested doing a cask ale brewery. There weren’t any in that huge metropolitan area. So they opened MacLeod Brewing in 2012, with not much money but a killer new pie to a crowded market and have thrived and grown.

The same thing could be said for Living Waters Brewing in Nashville. That is one crowded market but these students of ours had the idea to open not just a brewery but run it as a serious coffee house in the morning. Both types of business feed off of each other.

It’s not just about making great beer. It’s how you serve it up, whether in a really cool different atmosphere, or hanging the brewery onto another concept like a movie house, bowling alley or as a gym. In mild climates I think a brewery would work at a dog park really well. How much fun to share a pint with friends while your dogs play. The types of pies you could make different from all the rest is endless.

Let’s hear some of your ideas on this.