The State of the Beer

My new favorite thing is the brewpub. I feel as if it's the best way to sustain quality beer and innovation in the long run. Recently, I spoke with I guy I know about bottling. For small breweries, it is getting tougher and tougher to get shelf space. Retailers are only willing to cede so much Natural Light space to boutique beers. It'll be like that for a long, long time. The market isn't saturated yet, but in small towns such as the one in which I live, there aren't many more inches to expand, and tough choices have to be made. There are about three retailers with any selection at all within half-an-hour of my house. In the largest, craft (and craft-y beers, like Blue Moon and Shock Top) already take up 75 percent of the allotted beer space. The selection is excellent, and I have no doubt they will continue to accept local beers over those from outside the region, at least for the short term. As new breweries come on line, or, maybe even better, as would-be brewers...