We are set to be part of an amazing community. It is the quality of people in this business that not only encourage new breweries, but also support the current breweries in the market. People like you to be honest. You read blogs about beer, you support craft breweries, you tweet about beer, you talk to all your friends about the amazing beers you’ve had, and you travel near and far to taste different beers.
The result of this is to encourage new breweries to open. In fact, I pulled this graphic from the Brewers Association in the USA to show how the number of breweries has skyrocketed over the past 25 years.
It makes a person ask the question, how many breweries is the market capable of sustaining? Trying to guess this is like trying to figure out how much higher real estate prices can go in Vancouver. So I grabbed the closest comparison to beer …. wine! It made me wonder how many wineries are there now. I found this graphic from wines and vines and it shows the number of wineries in the USA over the past few years. As you can see, there are more than 7,500 wineries in the USA, which is about 5,000 more than the total number of breweries.
So when I see this, it makes me feel like there is a lot of room in the market for more breweries right?!?! If there are 5,000 more wineries than there are breweries, then there must be room for anther 2,500 to 4,000 breweries???
So what does all this mean to the number of breweries in BC? Well, the most excellent beer writer and blogger Jan Zeschky of the Province Newspaper recently published an article on new Breweries opening in 2014 in this great province. Click here for the full article. He identifies 19 new breweries that are set to open this year, which will surely be a record for British Columbia.
We are set to be part of this amazing community, and when I think pragmatically about things, I believe there is a lot of room for all the breweries opening up, and more. So if you dare dream about opening a brewery, or any other business for that matter, do it. Life is too short to put it off any longer.
I am living proof (and so is this blog) that your dreams can become reality, so long as you have a plan, you spend the time needed, and you surround yourself with amazing people. Of course, there are a few other details that need to go along with these big picture things, but don’t let them get in the way of following a passion.
So bring on the 19 new breweries this year, and I say bring on another 19 next year and 19 more the year after that. Lets fill the marketplace in BC with as wide a variety of breweries as possible. I also hope that these breweries continue to do wild and amazing things with the beer they make. Lets push the boundaries, lets challenge the ordinary and lets realize the potential that is within each and every brewery in this province.
I'm Starting A Craft Brewery 
Like always well said. I also look forward to many new breweries all over the Province! Let’s show everyone the quality that is being created here in our fine province.
You seem to be a bit worried about a crowded marketplace with two posts about it now. I suspect your just “processing” such a huge undertaking. But don’t worry, it’s all going to be great. We’re still in the early market stage. Think about how much more difficult and crowed it will be in 10 years! Getting in is usually the hardest part.
But with that said, I still think it’s imperative that you have at least one (ideally two) outstanding product(s). I will always want Fat Tug if I’m looking for an IPA. I will go out of my way for a growler of Ocean. Farmhand is the only saison I trust, at the moment (hint,hint). I’d drink Pooka Cherry Ale all year if i could (and i don’t even like fruit beer). And if i need to grab a six pack, Blood Alley Bitter is waiting at every BCLD store.
I have a few others too,but you get the gist. Each of these companies produce great, unique beer. They render their competition irrelevant and the decor of their tasting room becomes trivial. Look at Powell Street Brewing.
This is all so fantastic.
Oops.
Sorry mikescraftbeer, I miss replied. Mine should have been a general post.
If I had the technical ability to move your comment to a general comment I would, but alas, I don’t. I hope that one of our beers makes it to your must have list, and that your list grows to include other amazing breweries. You are correct in your take: I am worried about this undertaking, and while at times I focus on the good, when you write the cheques it is a bit different of a perspective on things. You just see how much it is going to cost to get this brewery off the ground, and it does make me wonder how it will all work out in the end. On days where I focus on the bad, I try as hard as I can to surround myself with supportive people and comments, and it surely helps. So thanks for your support, and I hope to share a beer in the near future.
No worries. It was a good read anyways.