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Fargo, ND-based Drekker Brewing's unique biz model with distribution scattered all over the country and world seems to be working well as Drekker nearly doubled its production from 6.6K bbls in 2020 to 12.6K bbls in 2024, per Brewers Assn stats. There's no sign of slowing down, either, owner and co-founder Mark Bjornstad told CBN this week. Drekker distributes to 34 states, the EU, UK, China and scattered other countries, with Mark noting that the international dynamic has flipped dramatically from two decades ago. "If you think about 20 years ago, one of the obsessions in craft was getting imported beers from Europe," in part driven by "noble hops, historic hops, historic malts" that were harder to come by here, in Mark's view. By contrast, "all of IPA's hops are domestic to the US, and Europeans have become obsessed with them." The upshot is that American beers, especially "boundary-pushing" ones, push hard against some European brewing purity laws, creating a demand for the forbidden fruit(ed sours). Which is good news, because they're tinkerers at Drekker. "We started doing this because we never wanted to do the same thing twice," he said. "We wanted to create something impossible to make, and make it consistently. Things can't change from batch to batch. In the end, we figured out how to make the most difficult thing consistently. All we wanted was a challenge, and we got a challenge." Experimenting with ingredients like raspberry cheesecake and bumbleberry pie, the co created fruited concoctions that are "like smoothies." Originally limited-time releases, "it's hit that point that people want it in their fridge" all the time: "The biggest compliment you can get was not wanting your flavors to go away."The mixing of styles dovetails with Mark's vision of the future of the entire alc bev industry, not just craft. While Drekker has been "blurring the lines within styles of beer," he sees the traditional beer/wine/spirits demarcations as likely to dissolve under the weight of innovation. "There will always be traditional styles and traditional products, but I think customers are pushing those 3 categories to make new stuff, make new flavors, get more creative."All of which speaks to a maturing industry, which Mark is happy to see. "There was a period where demand was so far above supply that sometimes quality didn't match, the service or the experience weren't there, and you didn't have to watch the details as much," Mark said. That these times are over is "a good thing. We've figured out what people want in craft beer: They want a brand they can believe in. If you can't match that, it's going to be tough. The well-run, vision-oriented, team-building companies are going to do well, they're going to adapt, they're going to keep learning."No Signs Of A Slowdown "I've certainly heard about it, but it doesn't reflect in any of our numbers. We don't see it in our brand and in our products. While it may be overall true in the industry, you're going to find many variations in that. Companies that buck the industry don't follow the trends," Mark said. "We're pushing the boundaries on weird beers, weird ingredients." He added that there's "a lot to dispute" in the stories about how "craft is dying." He specifically took issue with the idea that the "number of breweries closing is evidence of an industry in decline. People are still looking for great experiences, whether it be in taprooms or restaurants."

"They Want A Brand They Can Believe In"; Fargo, ND's Drekker Pushes Back Against "Craft is Dying" Narrative

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