Headlines matter – the sky is falling; no, it’s not

Brewers Associaton economist Bart Watson talked numbers yesterday at the Ohio Craft Brewers Association’s annual conference. Headlines on two stories that resulted set a different tone.

– Beer economist: For somebody to grow, somebody has to shrink

– Economist says there’s room for new breweries in Ohio

Storm clouds

The stories themselves contain most of the same facts, but the first has more and Watson saying, “There’s still growth out there, but it’s harder to find.” (It’s also from the USA Today network, so you have to answer three questions to read the whole thing.) Both headlines can be true. Craft Beer Brew News recently reported that “up to half of 36 brewers over 100K bbls declined.” But smaller breweries, those producing less than 100,000 barrels, did better. Beer Marketers Insights estimates their sales increased 14% (still not as good at 2015, when sales were up 25%). Thus it is likely there will be more breweries in Ohio, more breweries in lots of place, and more stories with headlines that read It’s 1997 All Over Again or It’s Different This Time.

3 thoughts on “Headlines matter – the sky is falling; no, it’s not”

  1. Thanks for the link-back, Stan. Appreciate it. Not that very many ever get it right, but our letter is called Craft *Brew* News. Get it? It rhymes…

    I wasn’t on this beat (or nearly old enough to drink…) in 1997, so it’s hard for me to compare. That said, there have already been and will certainly be more stories that remind, hearken back or feel like history repeating itself. But due to the undeniable and frankly massive change in scale, I have to assume it will also be different this time. The future: just like the past, but different! Both/and. Yada yada.

    Hope you’re well and thanks again!

    • Thanks, Chris. Fixed, but I will be red faced all day. I don’t view things as different than many people because we can point to an awful lot of breweries that opened in 96-97-98 that have thrived. And find ones that went away because they should have. That’s what’s the same today.

      • No worries at all, Stan. I’m pretty sure people have called it Craft Beer News, publicly and privately, more times than by its proper name. Ah well. And yes, absolutely. That is most certainly the same.

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