America's craft brewers face multiple challenges including competition from hard seltzers, a decline in consumption among younger generations, and the lingering fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic. The introduction of tariffs by President Trump, including significant levies on aluminum and steel, presents a new and formidable threat. Various staples, such as aluminum cans and steel kegs predominantly sourced from overseas, will see increased costs. This financial strain could lead to higher prices for consumers and potentially slow down business for breweries already struggling to recover.
"It's going to cost the industry a substantial amount of money," said Matt Cole, brewmaster at Ohio-based Fat Head's Brewery. Trump's trade war "will be crippling for our industry if this carries out into months and years."
At Port City Brewing in Alexandria, Virginia, founder Bill Butcher worries that he'll have to raise the price of a six-pack of his best-selling Optimal Wit and other brews to $18.99 from around $12.99, and to charge more for a pint at his tasting room.
"Are people still going to come here and pay $12 a pint instead of $8?'' he said. "Our business will slow down.'"
Butcher said he can't find malt of comparable quality anywhere else. Trump's tariffs also hit Port City in a roundabout way: The levy on aluminum...
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