Worcester Business Journal

wbjournal.com | January 9, 2023 | Worcester Business Journal 9 The supply chain is still causing issues F L AS H P O L L Disruptions to the global supply chain during the first two years of the coronavirus pandemic were a major issue driving the economic slowdown and inflation. As government and health restrictions have loosened and as companies have returned to near full strength, supply chain problems seem to have eased. When polled online, more than 80% of WBJ readers said the supply chain is still causing problems for their businesses, although more than half of those respondents classified the issues as small. Yes, a lot 35% Are issues with the supply chain still negatively impacting your business? Yes, a little 46% No, not at all 19% drastically increased operating and materials costs. We have seen our costs rise both from outside forces as well as internal needs and responses, but the weight is on materials, shipping, and energy, in addition to scheduled rent increases. We are producing and selling more beer than previous years, but at a much higher cost. A growing percentage of our sales are to wholesale accounts. is is due to changing consumer habits and a need to adapt from our taproom business model. We don't have a lot of margin in distribution, and it's a lot of additional time and energy we hadn't planned on expending two or three years ago. Addi- tionally, many people in our community shied to work from home and hybrid models, so we do not have the daily business traffic we had pre-pandemic. Fewer people are downtown during the day for lunch, and there doesn't seem to be groups coming from the office aer work, so we need to distribute to have a market for our products. What is the biggest challenge you fore- see facing in 2023? Maureen Fabry, brewer and co-founder of CraRoots Brewing in Milford: We sell our beer to-go in 32-ounce glass bottles we call squealers. It's a huge benefit to our environment to package our beer on-demand in a 100% reusable and recyclable container. We've kept a lot of beer packaging in the re-use category over our CraRoots lifespan. at said, 2023 will be the year we step into the canned beer world. Stay tuned for that. We aren't aiming to push our beer further into distribution, just to offer an alternative loaded with a lot of fun new aspects like can art, increased portability, and drinkabil- ity. We just want to brew some new beer styles and give them the opportunity to express themselves be- yond the glass, with some art and names expressing the CraRoots brand and vibe. Quinn, from Amory's Tomb:e biggest chal- lenge for us in 2023 will be wrangling back a taproom model that is sustainable. e brewing industry will face another year of supply chain issues and rising ingredient and energy costs, but I am hopeful it won't be too bumpy. As we have been learning the past few years with massive global trading interrup- tions, it can take a while to realize the impact of supply shortages. We'll see impacts of crop issues related to drought/flood conditions here and in Europe as well as grain supply issues related to Ukraine. Gallaghers, from Lost Shoe: Every- thing keeps getting more expensive, and we have received several notices in the past month from vendors increasing their prices in 2023. Finding the perfect balance of price for our customers to allow us to cover our expenses and pay our employees a living wage is an ongoing topic of conversation. In our industry, we are selling $6-$10 items, and even lower than that for coffee. We have to sell a lot of those items just to cover these increasing costs, so we focus on bringing people to our taproom for various events. What trend in brewing are you most excited about? Rondeau, from Penny Pinchers: People seem to be moving back toward sessionability, with lower alcohol content so they can drink more than one beer at a time. at is one thing we specialize in, so we are excited to see how people respond to our beer. Gallaghers, from Lost Shoe: We are excited to see more breweries doing lagers and bringing back classic styles. Hazies, stouts, and fruited sours aren't going away any time soon, and we're ex- cited to see how those evolve, but seeing classic styles make a bit of a comeback makes us happy. Quinn, from Amory's Tomb: We're not a super trendy group, but low-al- cohol beer is a trend I am excited to see growing and definitely follow (just please don't call/lump them all as ses- sion beers). Piquette-style ales, table bier, mild ale, grisette, 8-9º lagers, any and all of these! Which beer are you most excited to brew in 2023? Fabry, from CraRoots: I've been brewing more lagers, which are always a thrill to release. I enjoy seeing our customers' eyes light up when they see a new beer on our tap list, especially a lager, because they don't quite expect lagers regularly just yet. I've kept it to pilsners, Viennas. I'd love to brew a Schwarzbier, maybe a few more lighter lager styles too, like a Helles. Milford has a very diverse ethnic make up, and I oen hear customers wish for a beer that would remind them of their familiar dark lagers. is is a great technical brewing challenge for me to pursue. Rondeau, from Penny Pinchers: We are always excited to do new experi- mental brews! Nothing on the books yet, but people should follow us on social media to see what the crew comes up with next. Gallaghers, from Lost Shoe: We have finally started to settle into our core beers available on a rotating or seasonal basis. Our Cross- roads of New England series is exciting because we get to experiment with two differ- ent hop varietals, and our Galoshes of Fortune series allows us to push the bound- aries on our fruited-sour offerings. What we are most excited about this year are the beers we have planned with other breweries. Quinn, from Amory's Tomb: I can't talk specifics yet because it hasn't been an- nounced, but there is a beer I have been toying with in my head for a while and I think 2023 is the year. ink hoppy, spicy, and fruity married with tequila and wine. W Lost Shoe employee Sydney Reed assists a guest with a sale behind the counter at the Marlborough firm, which features both coffee and beer at its location.

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