News You Can Booze

Craft beer “isn’t popular anymore.”

The “bubble has burst.” The “boom is over.” The industry is entering a “painful period of rationalization.” “Craft breweries struggle as sales and appetites wane.”

These statements come, respectively, from Vice, Axios, VinePair, and The New York Times. They started ringing alarm bells late last year and continue to ring them upon each new craft beer industry report.

It’s blatant hyperbole to say craft beer is no longer popular. But each statement that follows that one gets ever-more painfully true. One Memphis brewery owner and Tennessee craft beer leader called the situation here “bleak.”

After the Great Memphis Beer Boom of 2013, the city swelled with beer. Since then, 17 independent breweries have operated inside Shelby County. (Eighteen if you count Mississippi Ale House in Olive Branch.) 

Four of those did not survive — Memphis Made, Urban Consequence, Hook Point, and High Cotton. Though Grind City stopped selling cans in stores, it still has taproom hours listed on its website; yet its chief focus is on its concert venue, The Amp. You could put similar asterisks next to High Cotton and Memphis Made as their cans and brands remain in the market as of this writing.

Editor’s note: Flyway leaders disagreed with our characterization of High Cotton in this section. They sent this clarification:

“Flyway Brewing Co. assumed operations in the former High Cotton space while proudly continuing to brew and distribute High Cotton brand beers (e.g., Riverking was revamped into a Hazy IPA, which has taken off).“

“Memphis Made Brewing Co. filing for bankruptcy over the past year was a moment that brought … challenges into focus for a lot of people locally, given that it was one of the city’s more established breweries,” said Mike Erskine, founder and reporter for The Memphis Beer Blog.

Neither Memphis nor these breweries are alone. Craft breweries across the country are closing — 481 of them last year, according to the latest numbers from the national Brewers Association. The only thing more startling than that figure is that closings are down from 2024 — when 591 craft breweries closed. Only 300 new craft breweries opened in 2025. That’s down from an astounding 518 that opened in 2024. 

“The slowdown in openings signals a shift toward a more mature, competitive market with fewer untapped opportunities for new market entrants,” reads the Brewers Association’s annual report. 

In plain language, this means most markets have plenty of craft beer, the fight for beer customers is tough, and any entrepreneur with craft beer dreams should stop and think it over real hard right now. While this sounds familiar in Memphis, remember this report covers the entire U.S. craft beer industry — from Bangor to San Diego.

The only U.S. markets to get positive mentions in the report are the East North Central division ( Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, and Wisconsin), which grew a whopping .3 percent, and the Pacific division, which lost only .1 percent. “Both are outperforming national trends,” reads the report.     

“It is bleak,” said Blair Perry, co-founder and CEO of Soul & Spirits Brewery and the new president of the Tennessee Craft Brewers Guild. “It’s really hard to be running a brewery right now.”

Perry rattled off a list of stats that would make any craft beer C-suiter tremble. Alcohol consumption on-premise (people drinking in taprooms): down by .4 percent. Off-premise consumption (taking home a six pack from a brewery): down 3.4 percent. Total U.S. craft beer made last year: down 5.1 percent. The economy is down. Prices are up. People are staying home.

She said 2024 was the first year that more U.S. breweries closed than opened. Big breweries in Tennessee have merged, too, including Wiseacre buying Nashville’s Bearded Iris and Xul in Knoxville buying Nashville’s Southern Grist. Big mergers like these signal market instability even among the state’s most visible beer brands.

Erskine said breweries here are leaning into taproom visits and on-site sales, where margins are higher. Others, like Crosstown, expanded into THC-infused beverages. He said some continue to lean into creativity and experimentation in beers, calling out Meddlesome, Memphis Filling Station, and Soul & Spirits. 

The future of craft beer in Memphis, however, may not just be about craft beer.

“Great beer is not the selling point,” Perry said. “The selling point is community, being a third space where people come to hang out and have fellowship.”

Why all this trouble? Let’s look quickly at what have become three national scapegoats.   

Gen Z

Oh, boy. Gen Z if you’re reading this (and you’re not because Gen Z doesn’t trust “legacy media” like the Flyer, right?), you’ve been blamed for all kinds of stuff. This includes the downfall of craft beer and bars in general. Dang.

Experts say Gen Z is broke; they’re addicted to the internet; they carouse and socialize online; they’re broke; they have negative associations with alcohol; they prefer THC; they’re broke; and, finally, they’re broke.

Hard and fast answers are murky here. I sure don’t have them. And what can a beer expert really do except peer a little harder into their crystal ball? 

But if a generation that regularly posts its life online doesn’t want to broadcast itself hammered drunk, I’d buy that. If a generation hammered by everyday economic woes — skyrocketing college, food, and housing costs — doesn’t want to spend $7 on a pint, I’d buy that. If a generation simply rebelled against past generations, I’d buy that, too.

Truth is — plain and simple — the kids aren’t going out like they used to. And that has taken a bite out of beer.

Non-alcoholic

Drinkers not old enough to get “O’Doul’s” references have likely had a non-alcoholic beer. If folks are voting for presence or fitness or against hangovers, NAs have concreted themselves in the beer market.

Did they dent alcoholic craft beer? While NA sales have exploded, they accounted for only 2.5 percent of overall beer sales last year. On the other hand, a Harris Poll last year found that 14 percent of craft beer drinkers are drinking less craft and more NA.

However, the Adult Non-Alcoholic Beverage Association (ANBA) estimates that more than 90 percent of consumers who purchase NA products are also buying alcoholic beverages.

In sum, NA is a category to watch. But not enough on its own to to bust craft’s boom.   

THC

“The narrative is simple: as access to THC expands, consumers substitute away from beer,” said Matt Gacioch, economist with the Brewers Association.

Weed products are everywhere and they’ll get you high, even currently in Memphis. That will soon change as hemp-derived THC products (including your fave flower or vape) will be banned here at the end of June.

The multi-millions of dollars spent on legal weed everywhere had to take a bite out of beer, right? “Not much,” Gacioch contended after an exhaustive review of data from states with differing cannabis laws. To him, beer remains a social choice, while cannabis is a largely solitary affair. Consumers may use each in different settings.

Craft beer’s struggles, he said, could not simply be blamed on the rise of wacky-tabacky.    

Spring Beer Guide

But guess what? People still love beer. We really do. And there’s plenty of it to drink in Memphis this spring: Tons of new styles from your favorite local breweries, tons of great stuff on store shelves from other markets. For this guide — for heaven’s sake — let’s focus on beers from our beloved Memphis craft breweries.

We were not able to get beers from every craft brewery here. Logistics is one thing, space available for reviews in this newspaper is another. So we did our best with all the love for our breweries in our hearts.

As I say every time we do beer reviews in this space, we are not beer experts. We gather our little newsroom crew (and some friends), try some of the newest, coolest beers to drink this season, and write what we know.

We know the Oxford comma but we might not know the exact difference in a Kölsch and a pilsner. However, we are beer consumers in this market. Like most who stumble into a Memphis brewery or store, we know what we like, what we don’t, and if a beer (or even a style) just ain’t our thing. And we go from there.

For this one, we were welcomed with open arms to The Wild Beet, the restaurant in what will become Stomping Grounds (at the old Railgarten site). Big thanks to Kelcie Nollner for letting us sprawl in the Beet’s dining room, drink beer, and talk … loudly. Can’t wait to get back there for pizza and salad! Big thanks, also, to Andrew Mathewes and Lindsey Shanmugasundaram for letting us hang and showing us around Stomping Grounds as they transform that huge space! I am so excited to drink a beer there very soon.

We hope this guide can put you on to some good Memphis beers this spring. Support our craft beer industry, y’all! We have an amazing thing here, filled with creative and hardworking people. Let’s keep it going. Go drink a beer. — Toby Sells 

Fool’s Gold
American lager
Crosstown Brewing Co.

Tastes like beer. Real, good beer.

I’m the fool, though. I was all like (in a dumb, mocking voice) “The can has a Memphis Easter egg. See it? The miner. Looks like the Huey’s guy, right?” Fool’s Gold is literally a collaboration with Crosstown and Huey’s. Probably said so right on the can. Do not trust what I write here.  — Toby Sells

This Crosstown product presents as a boring lager, but a few sips reveal a more complex flavor than your standard Budweiser. It’s got a hoppy note, with a little more malt for balance. Overall a fantastic summer drink. — Chris McCoy

It tastes flat. Flavor and bubbles are missing. — Gracie Driver

The old me would have turned my snooty nose up at a lighter American lager … but I’m a wiser man now and know how to appreciate the simple things in life. — Samuel X. Cicci

This will get the job done, but I found its flavor profile to be a bit nondescript. — Alex Greene

Sky Dog
Premium lager
Wiseacre Brewing Co. 

Sky Dog was the named the best light lager in America in 2024. I can see why. Oh, and the Sky Dog Mexican lager was the best in America last year. If that doesn’t do it for you, it’s only 99 calories. — TS

So fresh, so clean. Sky Dog is my go-to beer these days. It’s simple perfection. Did I call lagers boring? I take it back. — CM

Fruity and acidic at first, then boozy burnt sugar notes at the end. — GD

There’s really no reason to buy Budweiser, Michelob, or any kind of domestic light when Sky Dog is around. —SXC

Tangier than Fool’s Gold, this is nonetheless a lighter lager and hence immensely quaffable. And I like that the alcohol content is a humble 4 percent, so all that quaffing won’t send me into the blotto zone. — AG

Bring It Home
Bavarian helles lager
Soul & Spirits Brewery

Softer than the first two lagers, true to the style. Perfect day drinker. I’m in love. — TS

This crisp Munich lager leads with a bitter smell after the initial pour. But the hoppy promise doesn’t carry through to the first sip. Instead, you get a watery mouthfeel and very little flavor. — CM

It tastes sweet and gentle. — GD

I’m drawn to the complexity of this lager’s flavor. Sometimes lagers can sport a watery quality, but here, there’s a crispness mixed with a fuller body that makes it work on more levels of the palate. — AG

Corona Non-Alcoholic
Mexican lager-style malt beverage

Tastes exactly like a Corona if that’s your thing. — Shara Clark

Hop Zip
Non-alcoholic sparkling water
Wiseacre Brewing Co.

A cup full of bubbles and a burst of brightness! Tastes like a White Claw without the whisper of medicinal cherries. Less carbonation than a typical sparkling water. No burn. — SC

It’s light, flavorful, and floral. Tastes like a fancy liquid peach ring. — GD

Bluewing
Berry wheat ale
Flyway Brewing Co.

Tastefully fruited. Perfect for spring. — TS

Bluewing works because there’s not too much blueberry flavor, which balances out with the more traditional malt and hop notes. — CM

A trustworthy description on the can. — GD

Since I don’t do many lagers, this wheat beer has become one of my main choices for a hot summer day. — SXC

This is a fruity beer for those who don’t like fruity beer. Its summery blend of dark berry undertones with crisp wheat flavors is so nuanced, it’s a class apart from more cloying, juiced-up brews. — AG

Tan Lines
Kölsch ale with tangerine
Memphis Made Brewing Co.

I was expecting an orange punch in the mouth. This ain’t it. It’s subtle and it finished Kölsch clean. — TS

This beer smells like orange juice, but it doesn’t taste like it. The citrus flavor gets lost in a sugary haze. Memphis Made has made some great beers. This is not one of them. — CM

It’s citrusy with a herbaceous grassy finish. — GD

The crispness and the tartness are there, but you don’t feel like you’re being clobbered with a fruit basket. This one is smooth, subtle, sly, and sippable. — AG

Orange Ya Sweet
Blood orange wheat ale
Ghost River Brewing Co.

Big wheat up front! Fun, little orange finish on the back. As tastefully fruited as the Bluewing, imho. — TS

The biggest word on my Ghost River Blood Orange Wheat Ale mood board is “fizzy.” The head was very robust, and stuck around for a long time. This beer seems like it’s aimed at the White Claw hard seltzer fans. — CM

Tart. No further notes. — GD

Homestyle
IPA
Bearded Iris Brewing (Wiseacre) 

Big. Fruity. Tropical. I’m an IPA bro, still. Sue me. (Please don’t.) And this is the one? Ranks high. Now that it’s made in Memphis, I don’t have to hide the can in a koozie anymore. — TS

I consider myself a consistent critic of IPAs, but this Wiseacre product sold me. I can give this one my enthusiastic recommendation. — CM

I’m on my honeymoon in Hawaii, when I walk up to the bartender and ask for a Bearded Iris.

“We don’t carry that here,” he says. “We have other IPAs, though.”

“That’s ok,” I say as I pull out my own can of Bearded Iris and turn to face the camera, holding up the can so the logo is visible.

“Bearded Iris is the only IPA for me.”

“You can’t bring your own beer, sir,” the bartender replies as he calls security. (This is one of the only IPAs I will drink after trying it.) — SXC

This IPA is almost like a stealth fruity beer. It has almost pulpy viscosity, and there are hints of fruit in the flavor profile. And yet at heart, this is an IPA with all the acerbic hoppiness that implies. A bit heavy for my taste, but solid. — AG

Handlebar Haze
New England IPA
Hampline Brewing Co.

Hampline — Did someone call for an IPA bro who is ALSO a hazy boi?! (I’m embarrassing myself with honesty here.) Look, I am who I am and I love Handlebar Haze. Juicy. Fruity. Light.  — TS

I tried to keep an open mind, IPA wise, but I was not impressed. Handlebar tastes a little watered down compared to its competitors, like a beer that lacks the courage of its convictions. — CM

If you’re not sold on IPAs, this is a great place to start. — SXC