Joshua M. Bernstein

Last September, Hurricane Helene marked the second calamity to befall Asheville, North Carolina's brewing and hospitality industry in the last five years. The pandemic forced breweries into survival mode, pivoting to stay in business while staying at a safe distance. The federal government provided fiscal assistance to businesses and employees. The hurricane created the inverse. Federal aid was meager, and insurance companies largely refused to pay claims. “If it has anything to do with a flood, then it’s not covered,” says Jess Reiser, CFO and co-founder of Burial Beer. And so much wasn't covered. Western North Carolina and the Asheville area suffered landslides, flash floods, widespread destruction, and a lack of electricity, cell service, and potable water. Brewing fresh IPAs, much less flushing toilets, was unfeasible for the future—or maybe forever. The storm’s malignant forces reduced to rubble both Brewery Cursus Keme and New Origin Brewing. One year later, how are Asheville’s breweries rebounding? I first visited in 2009, reporting on the town’s ascendant scene for @imbibe . Then as now, the story couldn’t be reported from a distance. So I flew to Asheville and spent around three days this spring in conversation with dozens of brewers, bartenders, brewery owners, and beer drinkers. This was a deeply moving story to report, and I want to thank everyone in Asheville for sharing their personal experiences to help me tell this story of a bowed but unbroken beer scene, discovering how Asheville's breweries are banding together and rebuilding for a stronger future. Asheville is open for business. My advice: Travel there and tip back a few pints. P.S. This story is currently print only, but if anyone wants to read, shoot me a DM and I'll pass along the PDF. #asheville #exploreasheville #craftbeer

As a writer, finding negative narratives in craft beer is a breeze. Sales are declining. Closures are climbing. Let’s blame all those IPAs! Or Gen Z! Or THC! Instead of focusing on deflating news, though, @vinepair asked me to do another edition of annual article that’s centered on uplift. Even in a challenging year, brewers are still pushing forward to open new breweries by capitalizing on inexpensive used equipment and taking over vacant brewing spaces and taprooms. If restaurants can reinvent former kitchens, breweries can also take over brew kettles to ferment new futures. For the latest edition of the best new breweries feature, I reached out to brewers, bartenders, writers, bar owners, and more to create a national list of breweries and beer brands that are instilling excitement in beer, against all odds. We tried to only feature breweries that opened by mid-2024, but we left a little leeway for breweries that opened a few months earlier, or ones that moved to open new brick-and-mortar locations. The link is in the ol’ profile! And a map of the selected breweries is in the second slide. Any new spots that you’ve got an eye on?

Several decades ago, organic beer felt like a transformational force in craft beer. Eel River and Wolaver’s Organic Ales, among others, proved that a brewery needed no GMOs to make standout beers. The North American Organic Beer Festival launched in 2003 in Portland, Oregon, where founder Craig Nicholls later ran Roots Organic Brewing. I wrote a 2007 Imbibe feature touting how organic beer could “show beer drinkers that you don’t have to sacrifice flavor to save the planet,” according to Steve Parkes, then head brewer at Wolaver's. But the 2010s saw breweries forego environmental aims in favor of bold flavor, creating stouts inspired by candy bars and hazy IPAs saturated with cutting-edge tropical hops. A fellow organic brewer gave Ron Silberstein, founder of since-shuttered ThirstyBear Organic Brewery, an unforgettable analogy. “He told me, ‘Everyone else gets to use the Crayola Crayons box with 64 colors, and we’re drawing with a 12-color crayon box,’ ” Silberstein says. As America’s brewery count climbed toward 10,000, Wolaver’s, Bison Brewing, and other organic breweries closed. The NAOBF ended in 2017. Organic beers such as Lakefront Brewery’s Organic ESB disappeared. Organic growth seemingly dried up. But as America’s food pyramid rebuilds with red meat and tallow-scented health consciousness permeates contemporary culture, a renewed and wide interest in organic is sprouting. Costco is America’s largest retailer of organic food, and organic product sales reached $71.6 billion in 2024 as price gaps shrink between organic and conventional ingredients. At grain supplier @admiralmaltings , which Silberstein co-founded in 2017, state-grown organic malt only costs 10 percent more than conventional grain. Admiral’s organic wheat and malt now fuel organic brewing’s next generation, including @protectorbrewery and @ranchowestbeer . Organic malt was 33 percent of Admiral Maltings' total sales in 2025. “The organic bump is real,” Silberstein says. For @imbibe , I explored theevolving fortunes of #organic #beer, chatting with newcomers @fathersbrewing and @enjoybigcountry and stalwarts @peakbrewing and @hopworksbeer . Link in the ol' bio! What's your take?

Photo dump Friday! Scenes from the last few weeks o’ living in Columbus including: shellshocked running the concession stand at the middle-school dance (Dr Pepper and Takis for all!), a little punk rock, dive-bar food and concerts, awesome bumper stickers, proof that college kids love Busch Light Apple, some tasty beers and other sights from strolling around the alleys of Columbus. Next big trip: back to NYC in early June to visit friends and hit all the beaches.

Look at that throwback pic! That's me, just about 20 years ago, drinking lager in Riga, Latvia, during a twisty journey that took me from London to Mongolia in a broken-down car that, yes, broke down in the Gobi Desert. But that's a story for another time. The point is, I'm headed back to Europe to drink lager. And people can come along! Now, I've spent several decades running beer and food events, but safe to say I've never led a group drinking and dining across Europe. Next spring, that changes. The @worldexpeditions team asked me to put together a bucket-list beer-drinking adventure, and I decided I'd love to lead a tour tracing the history and evolution of lagers across Bavaria and the Czech Republic. And so it shall be! Next May (4–10), I’m bringing a small group of fellow beer enthusiasts (just 14 folks!) on a curated, small-group experience exploring centuries-old brewing traditions, from the monastic heritage of Bavaria to the birthplace of Pilsner in Bohemia. Is the trip dirt-cheap? Of course not. But I will make sure that we'll have the very best time and explore all the wonder and weirdness on offer. Anyhoo! Link in the ol' bio. Drop a line if you have any questions or want to know what I'm going to pack.

During craft brewing’s 2010s surge and summit, drinkers flocked to proliferating beer shops to buy cans, bottles, and growlers filled with fresh beer, the rarer the better. Fans tailgated delivery trucks carrying IPAs from Lawson’s Finest Liquids and the Alchemist, and customers queued every Black Friday for Goose Island’s Bourbon County Brand Stout. The mania has subsided, and “margins on retail are so tight that if people are just coming for a four-pack, that’s not making ends meet,” says Brian Jensen, the founder of @bottlecraftnorthpark , a chain of five southern California beer stores. Increasingly, long-running beer stores are shuttering nationwide. The Craft Beer Cellar franchise filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in 2024, the same year that City Beer Store in San Francisco concluded its 18-year run. Last fall, Top Hops went dark after 13 years on New York City’s Lower East Side, while John’s Marketplace shut one of three locations around Portland, Oregon, in December. To better meet shifting consumer habits, beer stores are offering cocktails and wine, adding food, and catering to communities. A warm welcome will draw more people than another cold beer. “It’s tough to get people to travel for a double IPA,” says Joshua van Horn, the co-owner of @goldstarbeercounter in Brooklyn. For @sevenfiftydaily , I explored the present and future of the American beer store chatting with folks from @meantimeoncass , @tastybeverageco , @belmontstation , @tucsonhopshop and more. Where are you buying #beer these days? Me, I'm buying 12-packs at my local grocery store. Link in the ol' profile!

We discussed the state of local breweries in Ohio and craft beer nationally. Guests: Bob Vitale, dining reporter, The Columbus Dispatch @dispatchdining Joshua M. Bernstein, author, journalist and consultant specializing in beer @joshmbernstein Jen Burton, co-founder, Seventh Son Brewing Collin Castore, co-founder, Seventh Son Brewing @seventh_son_brewing Listen at the link in our bio or wherever you get your podcasts

I’ve always been fascinated by towns built around the idea of health through consuming and soaking in waters like Saratoga Springs, New York, and @visithotsprings , where I took a little press trip last week. Hot Springs is basically a national park doubling as a town, one where folks with chronic illness flocked in the 19th and first half of the 20th centuries to steam, soak, and sip steamy water that’s more than 4,000 years old, heated by friction to upward of 140 degrees Fahrenheit and flowing to the surface. The town slid in the second half of the 20th century as modern science replaced steamy soaks, but it’s a still-living artifact of an earlier era of health care. And @superiorbathhousebrewery , based in a former bathhouse, uses the thermal waters to brew beer — the only brewery in a national park. Also! Fun fact: Arkansas grows about 49 percent of America’s rice. And Anheuser-Busch InBev is the state’s biggest buyer of rice. And @origamisakeco uses the rice to make Arkansas sake. Anyhoo! Fascinating 48 hours in a part o’ the country that I rarely get to see. #hotspringsarkansas #hotsprings

Scenes from the last few weeks o’ Columbus, Ohio, living. I collaborated with @derivebeer on a fundraising beer for my daughter’s middle school! I won a chili cook-off! Re-potted plants! Drank some solid @hoofheartedbrewing IPAs! Headless unicorns! Saw my kid’s SpongeBob SquarePants play! Magnolia trees bloomed! And I sold hundreds of snacks to middle-school kids at a dance! Takis remain king. And that’s the update. Next up: a reporting trip to Hot Springs. Arkansas, next week.

I began covering craft beer for @imbibe in 2006, for the magazine’s second issue, enjoying a bar seat to a bewildering boom. That year, according to the Brewers Association, 1,460 breweries operated in America; by 2024, that number soared to 9,922, and most Americans live within 10 miles of a brewery, if not four or five. Those fizzy decades fueled effervescent topics of an industry fermenting in double time. Bitter IPAs turned fruity and hazy, pastry stouts mined childhood nostalgia, NA beers offered flavorful moderation, and breweries pivoted to home deliveries and making pizzas to persevere through the pandemic. Lagers? Better than ever! Different narratives dominate today’s headlines. Closures are up. Drinking is down. That boom is a bubble poised to pop as Gen Z disinterest needles taprooms, where kids run rampant, and couch-locked customers consume THC and streaming TV at home. Negativity is easy. Headwinds blow hard, but they’re counteracted by positive gusts. Take @fiddleheadbrewing in Shelburne, Vermont, which ended 2025 with more than 10 percent growth, buoyed by a commitment to deliver its pungent flagship IPA, cold and fresh, throughout its tight 10-state footprint. “It’s been a slow burn,” says Matt Cohen, who founded the brewery in 2011. “It takes discipline.” No longer can brewers revamp dusty warehouses and stack receipts to the ceiling. To navigate economic uncertainty, and chart more sustainable futures, breweries are consolidating to maximize resources, while bars and bottle shops are cutting taps and selection to emphasize quality beers and experiences. Today’s beer market is pinched by customers grappling with higher costs of living, and maybe a lower desire to hit taprooms for drinks alone. Why not make plans to enjoy live bluegrass and naturally carbonated pilsner @wildyarrowbrewing in Greenville, South Carolina? “We need to give people an extra reason to come out,” says Aaron Dowling, a co-owner. Anyhoo! Easy job: I explored the last two decades of craft beer — and what comes next. Thanks to the teams @suncatcherbrewing , @otherhalfnyc , @mauibrewingco , @littlelagerstl and more for chatting. Link in bio! #craftbeer #beer

Winters are cold and long in the Midwest. Why not escape to Tucson, Arizona, to visit friends you’ve known for just about 30 years. Tacos, bike rides, cold beers, cacti, dive bars, great breweries, warmth in every sense of the word. All in all, an A+ escape. The retirees know where it’s at in February. P.S. I love this cover of a favorite Arizona band’s best song.

If there’s one thing to know about me, I’m a die-hard fan of happy hours and a good deal. $2 hot dogs and $4 beers till 6pm? I’ll be there when the doors open. Brewery taprooms rarely had to entice drinkers with deals, though. Fresh IPAs, scented with the latest and greatest hops, were enough to get people through the door — no matter the cost. But now, a dark cloak of financial unease covers all nooks and crannies of our economy and society. Costs are high for health care, steaks, and rent, compounded by widespread job layoffs and Arctic-like hiring freezes. And for some cash-strapped beer drinkers, a pint’s cold comfort can be too pricey. To meet consumers’ crunched budgets, breweries are taking economic cues from fast-food and fast-casual restaurants and creating beer-driven value menus and meal deals. The goal is to deliver quality without cutting corners, enticing customers off their couches on traditionally quiet nights. For @vinepair , I took a look at how breweries are leveraging a nice price — looking at you, @vebrewing ’s $3 20-ounce light lager — and deals, like @austinstreetbrewery ’s adult Happy Meal that combines a corndog, 12-ounce lager, and shot of bartender-beloved Fernet for $12. Hot dogs! They’re everywhere, like @tastybeverageco ’s weekly deal for $2 hot dogs and no corkage fee on beer. “Realistically, you could get a hot dog and a beer for less than $5,” says Johnny Belflower, the owner. “You can’t buy a sandwich and a drink for less than $5 at most fast-food places.” Anyhoo! Link is in the ol’ profile. Anyone seeing some standout brewery deals?