Richmond, Virginia’s Triple Crossing Brewing recently announced the decision to put its barrel-aging program on hiatus and, rather than simply announce the change, the brewery explained the business realities behind it. BREWER Executive Editor Jon Sicotte dug more into this with co-owner and head brewer Jeremy Wirtes to break down what happens when a brewery looks beyond the romance of barrel-aged beer and examines the economics: declining demand, higher labor costs, capital tied up in inventory, cellar space and the opportunity cost of keeping a labor-intensive program alive. How do you determine when a beer is no longer making sense for the business? More importantly, Triple Crossing’s decision raises a broader question for the craft beer industry: When does a beloved beer or brewing program stop being a good business decision? Wirtes discusses the thinking behind the decision, how consumer demand factored into it and what the experience has taught Triple Crossing about evaluating its portfolio and allocating resources.
