Not only are sales up, the total number of breweries in the United States has reached a 125 year high. Overall, this is great news. Americans now have more choice than ever before when it comes to craft beer. And for any sector of our economy to show resilience like this against recession is nothing short of impressive.
But inside the industry there are also some rumblings. Craft beer has experienced significant contractions in the past and many feel as though we are moving faster and faster toward a major correction. Even we are forced to admit that opening a brewery seems to be in vogue. With the explosive growth in breweries, there is even more demand for brewing equipment and brewing ingredients, which in turn raises prices.
So far, Triptych's only real experience with the unfortunate side of this wave of popularity has been with the Federal government who is currently swamped trying to process hundreds of breweries' requests for permits. Overall, we are still extremely excited for our opportunity to enter the market. At the end of the day, stats are just stats. There will definitely be breweries opening and breweries closing in the coming years. And from the start, we've worked to architect something that is svelte enough to weather a significant industry shake up while still being big enough to make waves of our own.
Craft beer is still only responsible for about 7% of total beer production in America. And Triptych is going to do its part to try and push it up to 8%.