Maybe not, but we are surely testing the limits of the market.
Owners of Eureka Heights Brewing Co. signed up 40 bars and restaurants to sell their beer during their first three weeks in business. The taproom was drawing such crowds that they quickly expanded hours. Saturday afternoons are now quite a scene, especially when a tour bus drops off a clutch of beer explorers.
They made opening a brewery look so easy, it’s perhaps no wonder others continue to jump in.
In late June, the Chronicle published a comprehensive list of 36 breweries operating between Galveston and Bryan-College Station, including 12 in Houston proper. In the three months since, five more breweries have opened within the city limits. Two were hosting opening events Friday night alone.
It’s a startling number, even given the surging interest in locally made beer.
“We often do see little bursts of activity as people get excited and open at the same time,” Brewers Association chief economist Bart Watson said Friday.
Brock Wagner, who founded Saint Arnold Brewing Co. 22 years ago, called it “the type of coincidence that is likely to occur when you have so many breweries in planning.” He cautioned that the new brewers may find it tougher to find shelf space in stores or room on a tap wall for their draught products.
“I think we may be at peak brewery opening,” he said, adding that it may still be two to three years before a shakeout begins and some breweries close. “I’ve been predicting a slowdown in brewery opening for a while and been proved wrong. I think we are at that point.”
Jason Armstrong, vice president, sales and distribution, and co-owner of Buffalo Bayou Brewing, sees room for more breweries. But he agreed it’s an open question.
“How many people can you fit in the boat?” he said. “I don’t think we know that yet.”
I confess I’ve lost track of the microbreweries in the Houston area. There are a few brands I buy – mostly but not exclusively Saint Arnold – and a bunch that I’ve never tried. I hope they all make it, and I hope they take an ever-increasing share of the market from the big conglomerates, but the odds are that in five or ten years’ time, the total number of micrbreweries will be smaller than it is today. In the meantime, I need to do some touring and sampling. I’ve been missing out.
I like to try new stuff, and support the small brewers too, Kuff, but my standby beer is still Shiner Black Label. Combine that with the fact that I don’t drink too much, and you get my situation. I still have some Saint Arnold Octoberfest beer in the fridge…..from two years ago.
Seems like a sour statement from Brock. We may well be reaching saturation (the silly names of many brews being one sign) but what’s the point of his comments? Is he wishing ill upon his nascent competition?
There does seem to be a decline in openings, but there is certainly room for more breweries in Houston metro compared to other cities. I suspect more “brewpub” concepts will open and the “production only” will decline. Also breweries with solid (award winning?) year rounds will likely be the ones to stick around.