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| CBC at Indiana Convention Center, Taxman Brewing Co., Lucas Oil Stadium, A.J. Foyt Exhibit at IMS Museum. (Photos © Brian Brown/Beer in Big D, Seal: City of Indianapolis). |
When the Brewers Association (BA) announced the selection of Indianapolis, Indiana, as the host city for the 2025 Craft Brewers Conference (CBC), my thoughts immediately went to "sports town." And not just because of sportsball, there's that internationally renowned racing venue as well.
In addition to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the city is home to the Colts (NFL), Pacers (NBA) and Fever (WNBA), not to mention Butler University (NCAA), NCAA Headquarters (including its Hall of Champions), and three teams playing minor league baseball, hockey and soccer. And just to further drive the sports point home for those choosing to drive in, Lucas Oil Stadium (Colts) appears as a dominant feature of the Downtown Indianapolis skyline.
Naturally, there's a lot more to the city and state than sports, but admittedly, my knowledge of Indiana beer didn't extend much further than the state's largest producer, 3 Floyds Brewing Co. of Munster. The company's campus (brewpub, beer production facility and distillery) has been closed to the public since COVID, so there's just a retail storefront currently, but it's also only a two-and-a-half-hour drive north of Indy should you be so inclined.
Within the city itself, I found there to be a number of interesting and unique breweries worth exploring. Plus, I made one observation that differentiates the Indy area a bit from our local North Texas scene. For more, see "Taproom Trips" below.
As for the industry as a whole, much of the chatter at CBC 2025 centered around economic conditions and how breweries might best navigate and survive the current downturn. Discussion both during individual seminars and CEO Bart Watson's annual "State of the Industry" address focused on these areas, with particular attention paid to how breweries can keep things fresh and interesting while competing in a market crowded with other types of beverage alcohol to choose from.
Details and data points on those topics are shared below as well, along with results from the culminating event of the week, the 2025 World Beer Cup competition.
Cheers!
State of the Industry
Just two years ago, the industry was seemingly in a state of transition. There were still pockets of modest growth, but for the most part things had flattened out in 2022, ending a long run of positive growth and the upward trend of the total brewery count. The market had matured, making this the "new normal."
Typically, a mature market is characterized by slow growth, stable demand and strong competition, with businesses tasked with trying to maintain customer loyalty while reigning in costs and finding new ways to differentiate themselves in the market.
In the time since, though, the industry has seen a slowdown in demand, with operating costs climbing and competition increasing even more. As a result, brewers are now faced with an even more difficult market environment, and the economic indicators bear this out.
In 2024, total production volume was down 4%, with regionals, taprooms and brewpubs all coming in around the average. Micros, however, were down even further at 7%. But the news was even worse for breweries producing less than 500 barrels. Representing 64% of all breweries in the U.S., this segment was down 9%.
So, what's dragging the industry down? Inflation and potential tariffs impacting costs are hopefully short-term hinderances, but more permanent influences on the market include demographics (craft beer drinkers are generally older and some are aging out), lifestyle changes (driving low and non-alcoholic beer sales), and competing beverage options.
Taking demographics as a jumping-off point, the younger generation just isn't all that into beer. They tend to prefer other types of beverages (especially RTDs, or ready-to-drink beverages), seeking what they perceive as a greater variety of flavors.
An interesting point here has to do with the proliferation of the IPA. Other classic styles are getting harder to find because fewer breweries are making them. And for (older) breweries that do, they find themselves trying to breathe new life into their flagships.
Yet, with IPAs being the predominant offering, some younger drinkers are saying they don't like beer because they think all beers are hoppy and/or bitter. It's almost like the beer landscape has become homogenized all over again.
Complicating matters is NIQ data showing sales declines in a majority of traditional beer styles, while increases are seen in stronger IPAs, light lagers, pilsners and blonde ales. Indeed, go to a taproom today and you're likely to find any number of IPAs and light lagers pouring alongside a plethora of pilsner variants (e.g., Italian, African, New Zealand pilsners).
Why, then, should brewers go back to classic styles if IPAs and light lagers are what pays the bills?
It's about appealing to the younger generation in hopes of expanding the customer base, and flavor again comes to the forefront. The opportunity for flavor innovation in popular styles was a talking point (see pilsners above), but many classics have inherent flavor complexities that are perhaps lost on the new generation. This goes to stepping up efforts to educate, since there's likely some truth in the idea that the kids may not know about quads.
That said, rolling out an entire line of brown and red ales probably isn't the answer. Product mix matters (doesn't it always?), so finding the right balance and being willing to adjust is important in order to satisfy the ever-changing tastes of your customer base. Honestly, maybe the definition for the word "pivot" should be changed in the dictionary to read "what craft brewers are constantly doing to try and stay alive."
As for the overall message, it remains one of focus. Breweries should stay true to their core values and lean into the things they do best while not overreacting to trends. And, of course, quality and execution are key. Racking up small wins may be the way to weather the current storm, and beer has weathered many storms in the past, so there's no reason it can't ride this one out as well.
On the competition topic, the 2025 edition of the World Beer Cup (WBC) attracted 8,375 entries from 1,761 breweries and cideries located in 49 countries worldwide. Those beers were judged against guidelines covering 117 categories (112 for beer, 5 for cider), with the average number of submissions per category coming in at 73.
The top three entered categories were Juicy/Hazy IPA, West-Coast IPA and American-Style IPA in that order, a result which mirrored the style rankings at the most recent Great American Beer Festival competition last October.
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| Image: 3 Nations Brewing Co. |
- 3 Nations Brewing Co., Carrollton/Anna - Silver for Shed 'n Silo - South German-Style Hefeweizen.
For more on the 2025 WBC, and the historical performance of breweries from North Texas, click the links below:
Taproom Trips
Not having been to Indianapolis previously, I focused on visiting brewing companies close to my hotel in the immediate downtown area. That narrowed the of list options to about 10, with two of those being among the top five producers in the entire state - Sun King Brewery and Upland Brewing Co.
Sun King proved to be a very popular destination during the two days I was in town (even limiting entry due to large crowds), so I didn't get a chance to check it out, but I did go to Upland's Fountain Square locale for a quick, just-got-into-town pint of their year-round Bad Elmer's Porter.
What's interesting about Sun King and Upland, and the Indy beer scene in general, is how many firms are operating multiple locations - something we don't see much of here in North Texas. Besides Sun King with seven spots (including one in Florida) and Upland with eleven, my stops included Taxman Brewing Co. - four locations, and Chilly Water Brewing Co. - two.
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| Taxman, Dark Side of the Munich Dunkel at Chilly Water, Metazoa, Bad Elmer's Porter at Upland (© Brian Brown/Beer in Big D). |
Taxman ended up being my favorite destination, thanks to their range of traditional and barrel-aged Belgian offerings. With Deduction, Exemption and Qualified being their dubbel, tripel and quad, respectively, the brewery's tagline is "Belgian Inspired, American Crafted" for a reason. Though, one thing I'll add is the downtown location is steps away from Gainbridge Fieldhouse, home of the Pacers and Fever. The message here being don't get caught in an Uber when a game lets out (playoffs especially!) and they start shutting down streets to allow for arena-escaping foot traffic.
Surveying others, three breweries make up what I'd refer to as the College Ave. crawl. Along an easily walkable three-quarter mile stretch, Sun King sits roughly halfway between Metazoa Brewing Co. and St. Joseph's Brewery & Public House. And if you're looking for a pre-crawl bite to eat, high marks go to The Rathskeller, a German restaurant that sits a couple of blocks west of St. Joseph's in a historic 19th century building.
Metazoa is a pet-friendly brewery that has donated 5% of profits to animal and wildlife organizations since its inception. Their motto being "Drink Beer. Help Animals." And while Trivia Night and a Pacers playoff game on the big screen were likely contributing factors, this place had the best overall vibe.
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| St. Joseph's Brewery (© Brian Brown/Beer in Big D). |
Then there's St. Joseph's, which is quite literally the church of beer in Indy. This is because the brewery occupies a church building whose cornerstone was laid in 1879. Due to private events on-site, I was only able to stop by on my way out of town, so a crowler of their seasonal PopeMeal Oat Stout was obtained to enjoy back home.
As for a few I missed. Other than Sun King, Guggman House Brewing Co. (two locations) and Kismetic Beer Co. both came highly recommended, I just didn't have enough time to seek them out.
