American craft brewers were already in trouble. Then came coronavirus

America’s craft brewers were headed for a rocky spell before the coronavirus pandemic. Now, many are worried their livelihoods could be doomed.

In 2019, more than 300 small and independent brewers closed — the largest total in a single year. Sales at the high-overhead operations shrank as the market overflowed with competition: A record 8,000-plus breweries were scattered across the US in 2019, a fivefold increase in a decade’s time. It was anticipated several hundred more would go dark in 2020.

But as winter turned to spring — a time when brewers typically gear up for the busy summer season — the rough patch turned disastrous. Potential outlets for beer sales shut off in quick succession.
Several states seeking to blunt the spread of coronavirus ordered weekslong closures or drastically scaled-back operations of businesses that were once reliant upon being communal gathering places.