Albeerta

Well 2017 was one for the beer books and it looks like 2018 will continue. With another 5 or so breweries coming there is talk now around saturation points.

Recent interviews and pieces say there's still market for these new beers and people to buy but when will we hit saturation? I think SK has room and MB, though we're only talking Winnipeg but AB has many breweries now. Hitting about 80 breweries this coming year
seems like 3 million people can drink more but where does it go? Check the map - Canadian craft map

I feel the saturation is in shelf space and pub taps. A bar with 10 taps welcomes local craft - we're seeing it, 10 taps is still only 10. The fight for tap space is here. Shelving, too. Tough to give all your space to only craft, only local. AB interprovincial tax has helped local beers here as we don't see much of SK, MB ON beers as we once did. BC still arrives.

What will happen?

I think we'll see two things.

We'll see some crafts not survive. That's sad to say as we love to see them come, but likely.

We'll see super local now form, too. We'll see brewpubs stay neighbourhood craft pubs. Like a lot Quebec brasseries they'll make their beer and sell in house. Hopefully the local sustains. This will see those in small AB towns do alright and make local Calgary/Edmonton strive for area business. There's got to be a Bowness brewery coming. Anyway there's the prediction.

We'll keep supporting local craft coast to coast and we hope you do, too.