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Beer sales, both craft and mass-market, are slowing around the world, and few countries are immune, even beer meccas like Belgium. We’ve that, the Samuel Adams Mentorship Program, and more.
Samuel Adams Opens Applications to 2025 Mentorship Program
Brewing the American Dream, is the philanthropic arm of Samuel Adams aimed at providing mentorship and capital to food & beverage entrepreneurs nationwide. Each year the Brewing & Business Experienceship arm of the program invites brewers nationwide to apply for the chance to win unparalleled access to brewing and business resources from experts at Samuel Adams, including founder and brewer Jim Koch.
One lucky craft brewer will be selected to come to the Samuel Adams Boston Brewery, to work side-by-side with a team of mentors and collaborate on a specialty beer with Samuel Adams. The winner will also travel to the preeminent craft beer event of the year, the Great American Beer Festival, to shadow and experience alongside Samuel Adams.
Applications are now open and brewery founders are encouraged to apply by March 21st. A selection of finalists will be invited to the Crafting Dreams Beer Bash in NYC this summer to share their brew and business background with Samuel Adams representatives, media, and beer enthusiasts.
Words to Drink By
“Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new.” – Albert Einstein, German-born theoretical physicist best known for developing the theory of relativity
Belgian Brewers In Crisis Mode
Beer sales, both craft and mass-market, are slowing all over the world and increasingly it seems like few counties are immune, even beer meccas like Belgium, a region renowned for its unique brewing skills.
Beer sales in Belgium dropped by 5.8% in 2023. And Belgian beer exports which make up 70% of all the beer produced in Belgium were down a concerning 7.5%, according to industry association Belgian Brewers.
“Breweries are also beginning to fall, albeit slowly,” according to VinePair…
Mark Van Pee, who has been tracking brewery numbers for consumer group Zythos for the past decade,” explains that Belgian brewing’s modern peak came in 2022, when there were 430 physical breweries and 309 “beer companies,” which don’t own brewing equipment. Now there are 413 and 300 brewing companies.
“Thirty-six breweries closed last year; 31 more have followed in 2024. “They’re mostly very small breweries,” Van Pee added. “A lot of them are one-man bands.”
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