SHELBURNE, Vt.— Fiddlehead Brewing Company wrapped up 2023 celebrating another impressive year of growth with increased production, sales and profits during a time when the craft beer industry overall struggled significantly.
The Vermont-based brewery, founded in 2011, bucked industry trends by growing 22% during 2023, surpassing 91,000 barrels of beer produced and 1,286,002 ce sold. The rest of the industry in the Northeast was down -3.5% for all beer/malt and down -6% for craft beer specifically.
Fiddlehead’s growth, fed by their flagship product, Fiddlehead IPA, included increased sales across their 10 state Northeastern footprint. In the competitive IPA market in the northeast Fiddlehead IPA grew 31% in sales. FIddlehead continues to sell a tremendous amount of draft beer (42% of sales in 2023, up by 15% from 2022), and is seeing significant growth in many packages including the 12-pack and 19.2 formats, specifically.
“We are particularly excited that even in our more mature markets, such as our home market here in Vermont and in the capital region of New York and in Massachusetts we saw double digit growth in sales. That kind of growth excites us because it reflects the fact that we are not just attracting new consumers of Fiddlehead in new markets but we are also selling more beer in places where Fiddlehead is already well loved and well established.” said president/owner Matt (Matty O) Cohen.
The Shelburne Vermont based brewery added three new markets in 2023:Maine, Delaware, and NE Pennsylvania. While the brewery does not expect to add additional markets in 2024, they are projected to top the 100,000 barrel mark in terms of beer sold. That scale of production is more typical of breweries with a national footprint, so to reach that threshold with their more contained, regional footprint is notable.
“We are passionate about beer and we maintain especially strict quality standards related to our products. We insist that our beer is stored cold and we are only interested in distributing it to locations where we can assure that the beer arrives quickly and can be delivered fresh. It’s an important element to our success story”, said Cohen.
In the early days of 2024, things are off to a strong start with no sign of a slow down in sight.
About Fiddlehead Brewing Company
Fiddlehead Brewing Company, located in Shelburne, VT, is a brewer-owned business with a simple approach: make great beer, hire passionate people, and ensure the beer is fresh and available on tap or in a cooler near you. Fiddlehead Brewing Company products are distributed in VT, CT, DE, MA, ME, NH, NJ, NY, PA, and RI
For More Information:
https://fiddleheadbrewing.com/