Craft beer is facing hard times

By: Trademagazin Date: 2022. 08. 08. 13:38

It is not easy for those who want to thrive in the craft beer business here today: two years ago, the outbreak of the pandemic and closures made it almost impossible for domestic microbreweries to survive, and now the energy crisis and rising prices are a problem. Although there is an increase in turnover, high inflation, the rise in the price of energy and raw materials, the weak forint and the ongoing war in Ukraine simultaneously put pressure on Hungarian breweries that it is not certain that all of them can cope with. Followed by Pénzcentrum’s overview of craft breweries and what we can expect in the craft beer market in the near future.

For two years, the pandemic most severely affected tourism and hospitality, and the craft breweries operating here are closely dependent on the latter. With the improvement of the epidemic situation and the end of the restrictions, this season the demand has completely returned to the pre-epidemic level, and there are some brewers who, according to him, were able to increase their turnover this year despite the difficulties. However, the year 2022 does not promise to be easy in the industry either: brewing is a high-energy process, and breweries were not subject to the overhead reduction. Not only electricity and gas cost much more now, but also hops and malt, which are scarcely available here, so they are also bought from abroad.

The price of raw materials has risen significantly abroad, but the forint is putting a shovel on it. Hungarian breweries have to pay the same price when purchasing raw materials, but due to the weak forint, it now costs Hungarian breweries much more than at the beginning of the year. In the case of kraft beers, it does not matter what kind of barley, malt and hops go into the bitter juice, since the products of craft breweries have gained a foothold on the market precisely because of their high quality. “The raw material costs are in euros, and they are basically expensive materials – and this has clearly been charged to the beers,” said Szami Ali Rawech from HopTop to Pénzcentrum regarding the factors driving the price increase.

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