21 March 6th-March 12th, 2025 phoenixnewtimes.com PHOENIX NEW TIMES | NEWS | FEATURE | FOOD & DRINK | ARTS & CULTURE | MUSIC | CONCERTS | CANNABIS | Changes Brewing Craft beer has hit a nationwide slump. Phoenix brewers are adapting. BY SARA CROCKER O ver the summer, a notori- ously slow time of year for bars and restaurants in the Valley, the owner of Kitsune Brewing Co. asked his staff to take an informal survey. The team should note whenever a customer asked for something other than one of the North Phoenix brewery’s craft ales. Over six weeks, owner Tyler Smith and his staff clocked about three dozen guests who wanted something besides Kitsune’s brews such as hazy Forager IPA or Fox Diver Brown Ale. “We can see the writing on the wall,” Smith says. As the 2-year-old brewery seeks to cement itself in the neighborhood and respond to customers’ drinking prefer- ences, the Kitsune team has expanded the taproom’s beverage offerings. That means offering wine, sake, canned seltzers and a larger array of nonalcoholic options. “We believe our beers can sell,” Smith says. “But if 25% of people aren’t drinking beer anymore — not because of the flavor or the taste, but just because they’re wanting something different — we’ve got to figure that out.” He’s not alone in weighing different strategies to bring more people into taprooms. The past year was a watershed for craft beer. After nearly two decades of sustained growth, the Brewers Association reported that in 2024 more breweries closed (399) than opened (335) around the country. Coupled with about a 2% decline in production nationwide, “craft has been going through a painful period of rational- ization,” says Bart Watson, the Brewers Association’s vice president of strategy and membership. This year isn’t boding much better as costs rise and drinkers continue to gravi- tate toward other options – or cut out alcohol entirely. Those issues are on brewers’ minds during Arizona Beer Week, the local celebration of craft drafts. “Everyone that owns a small business is probably concerned with what 2025 holds,” says Simple Machine Brewing Co. owner Marshall Norris. “I know we are. And I know we have to be really diligent ▼ Food & Drink with our decisions while trying to have fun and stay true to ourselves.” Steps forward, steps back The state is home to 102 brewing compa- nies, says Andrew Bauman, the executive director of the Arizona Craft Brewers Guild. Nationally, this puts Arizona 42nd in brew- eries per capita. A popular refrain among Arizona brewers is that the state has fewer than all of San Diego County, which is home to more than 150 craft breweries. That’s not necessarily a complaint. “In Arizona, we’ve been pretty lucky because our state didn’t rush to grow. We didn’t oversaturate,” says Derek “Doc” Osborne, the founding brewmaster of Pedal Haus Brewery. In 2024, Bauman tracked 11 new brew- eries opening, largely in rural parts of the state, compared to six closings. In the Valley, new brewers such as Pinnacle Brewing Co. arrived, while several estab- lished brewers shuttered taprooms or changed their approach. Uncle Bear’s Grill and Tap began as a restaurant and sports bar nearly 25 years ago. In 2013, the growing restaurant group started brewing craft beer. Nearly a decade later, Uncle Bear’s dog-inspired drafts could be found at its six Valley restaurants, other bars and on store shelves. In the past year, Uncle Bear’s co-founder Todd Carey decided to return focus to his restaurants in the East Valley, shuttering three Uncle Bear’s outposts and closing brewing operations. Carey has kept Uncle Bear’s beer alive through a different model – partnering with Huss Brewing Co. to make the beer for them. “The last two years, with the economy, the challenges to the (craft beer and hospi- tality) industries and such, it seems like we’ve taken a couple steps forward and then we’ve taken a couple steps back,” Carey told Phoenix New Times in January. Uncle Bear’s wasn’t alone in consoli- dating its restaurants or taprooms. While Huss Brewing Co. took on the brewing operations for Uncle Bear’s, the company also closed two of its brewpubs. In January, Huss closed its taproom and restaurant at Uptown Plaza in Phoenix and the Mesa eatery and bar Papago Brewing Tyler Smith and his team conducted an informal survey to see how many customers asked for something other than beer. (Photo by Sara Crocker) >> p 22
