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 Craft beer production in Sonoma County hit a high in the last decade. Now, many breweries are struggling as drinking habits change and competition grows.

KRCB's Shandra Back speaks with freelance food, wine and beer writer Tina Caputo about what's behind the shift, and how local breweries are adapting.

KRCB: It feels like beer has kind of taken its own personality on in Sonoma County. How would you describe the craft beer scene here right now?

CAPUTO: I would say it is evolving. Over the last 10 years or so, there has been something of a downturn in the brewing industry. So a lot of the local brewers are really trying to figure out what works for them and what's going to make them successful now and into the future.

KRCB: When you say downturn, what does that mean exactly?

CAPUTO: It really goes back to before the pandemic. Just around 2019, sales for the craft beer industry were pretty flat, and then the pandemic happened, and everybody was stuck at home. So there were a lot of people who were just trying new beers, and sales really spiked during that period. But then the pandemic ended, and a lot of things changed, and so since then, it's been a slow sort of decline. And some breweries have gone out of business, including some local ones.

And there's absolutely room for new brewers to come onto the scene. I think they just have to approach it in a very smart way. And I think what a lot of the established brewers — or even ones that have just been around for a couple of years — are figuring out is that hospitality is the key to that, and creating a really good culture around your beer. Not just making great beer, but creating a community around your beer is what's really the key to success right now.

KRCB: I recently moved to Sonoma County, and there are so many different vibes. It really seems like you enter into a space and there are all these different events happening. Can you talk a little bit about that?

CAPUTO: Yeah, that is absolutely the case. Breweries are really leaning into this role as community gathering places right now, and so you see brewers doing trivia nights and bingo and open mics, and Cooperage is doing beer‑and‑yoga sessions. And so they're really trying to create more reasons to get people together and have a few beers. I think people really need that connection right now.

KRCB: And as someone who's reported a lot on the wine industry — and now you're reporting more on beer — when we think about the wine industry and how it's struggling, are there comparisons you're seeing in beer?

CAPUTO: Absolutely. There's been so much coverage — and a lot of coverage I've done myself — about the struggles of the wine industry, and the beer industry really is having a lot of the same issues. Young people aren't drinking as much alcohol in general as previous generations did at the same age. And people are cutting back, and the economy is tough, and demand is shrinking. And at the same time that's happening, all the costs are skyrocketing. There are tariffs on all of these different things that they have to purchase in order to even produce their beer.

KRCB: Sounds like it is a bit of an uphill battle right now. As you've been interviewing people and reporting on this, what are owners, brewers, crafters talking about?

CAPUTO: Well, I talked to Natalie Cilurzo, who is the co‑owner of Russian River Brewing Company, and she's been in this industry for 30 years. And her take on this is that this is just a natural right‑sizing of the industry. 

Ten years ago was the boom time, and things were growing at double digits, and she feels that was unsustainable and at some point that was going to stop. And she fully expected that to happen, and she feels like this is a good thing, even though some people, you know, may not make it.

KRCB: And was there anything that really surprised you about reporting on the current craft beer scene in Sonoma County?

CAPUTO: I think I just didn't really realize how much it had been struggling in recent years. I guess I hadn't been paying as much attention to it until I started working on this piece. The last time Sonoma Magazine did a major beer feature was in 2015, and I actually worked on some stories for that package, too.

 And that was the boom time, and the atmosphere around it was so different then. It was like the sky's the limit — new breweries were popping up all the time, sales were increasing every year. Everything was going fantastically. And then to go and revisit that 10 years later was very interesting for me — to see, oh wow, a lot of things have changed since then.

KRCB: You've been reporting on food and wine for over 15 years. You've seen a lot of evolution in the industry and now in beer consumption. Where do you see us headed next?

CAPUTO: I think we're just going to see more of this emphasis on hospitality and inclusiveness and community around brewing. It's more about the whole experience now, and I think that's the way it's going to be in the coming years.

KRCB: Well, Tina, thank you so much for letting us in a little bit more to the Sonoma County craft beer scene.

CAPUTO: Thanks for having me on. And go drink some local beer!