THE GIST
In years past, Dry January was a blip on the collective radar of American breweries. Big beer companies like Heineken or BrewDog might promote non-alcoholic products, while smaller ones typically chugged along quietly through the sluggish, post-holiday month, typically the slowest for the hospitality industry. This year, a softer craft beer market and more public visibility for Dry January have led breweries to confront consumers head-on about their choices not to drink alcohol. In some cases, they’re pushing back against drinkers’ abstinence goals.
In recent weeks, Dry January posts on social media from breweries across the country have taken varied tones. They’ve sometimes been encouraging (“With 2024 just ahead, and #dryjanuary about to settle in, I encourage you to find ways to support the brewers you want to see in 2025 and beyond.”). They’ve sometimes been lighthearted (“Dry January doesn’t mean you can’t visit your favorite breweries. Your friends miss you, we miss you … and we have NA offerings!”) And they’ve sometimes been confrontational (“Forget dry January… just drink better beer.”).
While Dry January has been around for years, 2024 has hit an inflection point as brewery closures match opening rates. For what feels like the first time collectively, these businesses are choosing to confront Dry January with pleas for support on social platforms. After more than a decade talking up “community” as core to craft beer’s ethos, brewers and owners are now asking aloud: Do they primarily exist to promote the consumption of alcohol or do they in fact mean something to their customers in a way that goes deeper than a choice of beverage?
It’s a critical question as the industry meets changing drinker preferences—not just during January. In 2023, beer struggled overall, but craft beer fared worse than the category:
Craft beer’s volume sales in chain retail fell -6% versus the year prior, according to Circana data analyzed by 3 Tier Beverages, and its share of beer volumes dropped -0.3%.
Brewers Association economist Bart Watson reported that 2023 was the first year of craft beer’s modern age—outside of 2020’s COVID-induced shocks—that total craft production contracted.
Meanwhile, consumers increasingly chose alternatives such as ready-to-drink cocktails, flavored malt beverages, and non-alcoholic beer, all which saw gains last year.
“There are breweries that take the hard stance of ‘Fuck Dry January,’ and I just completely disagree with that,” says Betsy Lay, co-founder of Denver’s Lady Justice Brewing. “Craft beer might be missing a shot at embracing what the public is looking for right now.”
WHY IT MATTERS
Between declining drinker interest in beer and severe weather, this Dry January looks for some breweries like the straw that broke the camel’s back.
The appeals across social media are a marked departure from the omnipresent positivity that characterized the craft beer industry for years. And it’s a delicate line to walk for small businesses that generally want to be viewed as places to relax and have fun, yet are asking the public for not just business and something approaching sympathy—but money.
Despite the generally strong economy, many consumers are feeling the post-holidays cash pinch while breweries are suffering the January doldrums. And new forms of alcohol like hard teas and canned cocktails now vie for shoppers’ dollars. Anne-Marie Roerink, principal of market research firm 210 Analytics, told Food Dive that “across total food and beverages, prices are more than 30% higher today than they were pre-pandemic.” Beer’s price increases have outpaced other alcohol categories: According to Bureau of Labor Statistics data analyzed by the National Beer Wholesalers Association, increases in beer prices began to ramp up relative to beer and wine over the past three years.
Against this backdrop, many breweries are approaching their Dry January pitches with sensitivity. Fullsteam Brewery in Durham, North Carolina, acknowledges the potential awkwardness up front, beginning a Jan. 14 Facebook post with: “ *** // deep breath // *** It’s always a delicate subject, the whole ‘come and support us’ thing. Here goes!” The post goes on to suggest ways to support the brewery this month, from drinking its non-alcoholic options to purchasing its Girl Scout cookie and beer pairing flight. If people wouldn’t or couldn’t support Fullsteam specifically, Chief Executive Optimist Sean Lily Wilson implored readers to “please support a local, BIPOC-owned, or veteran-owned business” instead.
An Instagram post from Miami’s The Tank Brewing is more pointed. Its caption reads: “This message is intended for those participating in Dry January. Our brewers are here to tell you there’s another option!” The accompanying video encourages people considering Dry January to instead participate in the “LO-CA Challenge,” a reference to The Tank’s low-calorie, low-carb blonde ale, LO-CA. “LO-CA Challenge: For your health and the employment of our brewers,” the video concludes.
Mauricio Arratia, The Tank’s head brewer, says the video was intended to be tongue-in-cheek and there is no threat to the employment of brewers or taproom staff as a result of January sales figures. He says the point is to position LO-CA as a beer people can drink while still working toward wellness goals.
“As you can imagine, promoting beer alongside a ‘healthy’ lifestyle is a tough task due to the constant, negative propaganda distributed throughout the media, but we strongly believe and have proved to ourselves that a person committed to certain goals does not have to entirely sacrifice a product that brings such joy to their lives,” Arratia wrote via email. “The viewer is encouraged to make healthier changes in their dietary habits while still consuming one of The Tank's flagship beers.”
This might work for a segment of people who cut out beer this month to reduce their carbohydrate intake or to potentially lose weight. But for those who participate in Dry January in order to reevaluate their relationship with alcohol through a period of abstinence, a low-carb beer literally isn’t what they’re looking for. (Arratia adds that the brewery has nothing against people choosing not to drink for a month, and that The Tank will be there for them in February “with open arms and a cold one.”)
The Tank’s messaging is clear: Beer’s place is front and center, during January and during the other 11 months of the year. In Duluth, Georgia, Good Word Brewing & Public House also had some fun with Dry January on Instagram, posting a video that promoted “Ginuary” (a celebration of gin) at the brewpub.
Behind what Good Word owner and brewer Todd DiMateo called a “fun” video is a seriously challenging business reality. January and February are slow months for breweries, he says, Good Word included. Good Word reduces all unnecessary expenses to zero during this month, and brews less often—some years, only twice all January—than it would during other months in order to avoid buying more raw materials. DiMateo says he applauds people’s health efforts, but that it takes place during January is tough timing for breweries and bars.
“I wouldn’t want to hurt anyone seeking balance in their life, I’m all for it, but at some point the Dry January thing really caught on and damn if it isn’t terrifying,” he wrote via email. “I respect someone’s decision to do Dry January and hope they respect my decision to continue to promote our business during the single two worst months of the year in sales.”
At Lady Justice, Lay understands these pressures. (She alluded to that in an Instagram video highlighting the availability of non-alcoholic beers that begins: “Welcome to Dry January at a brewery that really wishes you would come spend money here.”) In addition to year-end taxes being due in January, breweries also have had to contend with an increase in Denver’s minimum wage that went into effect this month, raising the tipped minimum wage $1 to $15.27. And all that comes during the slowest period of the year, when severe weather can wipe out what meager foot traffic exists.
“January is scary for a lot of reasons,” Lay says, noting that so far this month, taproom revenue is -7.5% lower than the average month of 2022. Last year, January’s taproom revenue was -12% lower than the average month.
But rather than making light of Dry January by doubling down on its standard beers, Lady Justice makes an effort to embrace patrons’ efforts at sobriety or moderation. So far, this has proven to be good business: A mocktail class led by cocktail company Shea’s Provisions and held at Lady Justice had already sold half its tickets just a week after being announced.
The brewery has also promoted the availability of Athletic Brewing non-alcoholic beers at its taproom. Lay says that last year, an analysis of the brewery’s website traffic showed that searches for “Dry January” and “Athletic Brewing” by people who were geographically near Lady Justice was one of the top searches leading people to the brewery’s website.
“From a bottom-line standpoint, you want people to walk into your space and buy things,” Lay says. “If people are curious about non-alcoholic offerings and we have the ability at Lady Justice to bring someone in like Shea to talk about what they’re doing and what this product is, there’s no reason people shouldn't be able to explore sobriety or taking care of their bodies without the community around it.”
Lay says this has reinforced a belief Lady Justice already holds dear: Breweries have to be more than just places to drink beer.
“There is that line between people taking craft beer literally to the point of: ‘This is a craft brewery and that’s all we offer.’ … But no, this is a community gathering space and there are other ways to be,” she says “Craft beer is what we pride ourselves on and what we work hard at being good at, but I would rather you sit in here and have these connections with people, these relationships with people [even without beer]. That’s the magic of a taproom.”
Breweries who stretch their muscles to provide non-beer beverages and more engaging programming during January may find it a useful exercise in diversifying their audience year round. Finding ways to connect with new audiences is something that trade organizations like the Brewers Association have discussed for years. And Dry January—when at least some percentage of drinkers are reevaluating when, what, and how they drink—is a natural reason for breweries to reevaluate what they offer, too.
Craft breweries typically profess to be community-centered. Lay says that means listening to what the community says it needs—whether or not that’s beer. If beer isn’t what the public is demanding as much as it once did, that can be a fundamentally terrifying reality for a small brewery. But it can also be a chance to listen, adapt, and offer products or experiences beyond beer that are what the community wants.
“How does craft beer get people to give a shit about craft beer anymore?” Lay says. “The other question I ask behind that is: Does craft beer give a shit about people?”
Words by Kate Bernot