In 2024, How About "Pub January?"
In recent years, January has become a time for alcohol fasting. After the boozy holidays it makes sense to take a break, the thinking goes, and after all, who wants to go outside in the dead of winter? I don’t want to dissuade anyone from finding balance in their lives—though “Dry January” may not be the best way—but beer fans might consider the broader implications of skipping a month of pub-going.
January is a terrible time for pubs and taprooms even in normal years. This year, when draft sales are projected to be two million barrels below their 2019 baseline, the situation is especially dire. Breweries and pubs never fully rebounded from the Covid pandemic, and the longer the malaise lasts, the harder it is to survive. A record number of breweries closed last year, including some historically important ones. Another bad winter will inevitably lead to more closures.
To survive the lean times, independent pubs rely on the fat of summer to carry them through winter, but that’s harder following anemic years like the one that just ended. Breweries, meanwhile, count on the fat margins of draft sales to shore up their overall revenue. Because of inflation and rising costs, small breweries have watched their margins narrow to almost nothing on packaged beer sales, making their draft volume all the more critical. Finally, at least in the northern latitudes, the tourists stop arriving for vacation. All of this makes January—even without the national effort to avoid booze—a rough month.
I have an idea.
Make this month #PubJanuary. Stop in for a quiet pint, grab dinner out, spend the afternoon playing a board game. It doesn’t really matter what you do—you don’t even have to drink alcohol—but if people kept up their July pace of pub-going, it would make a big difference. We’re not talking the salt mines, either; going out is fun! Consider it a vacation in an evening. In fact, January is typically the deadest time of the year—a perfect opportunity to connect with friends. Enjoying other humans is good for your soul.
I don’t know if we could make this a movement or not, but it wouldn’t hurt to try. There’s certainly never been a better year. So let me exhort you all. If your life circumstances allow it, get out there and support your look beer businesses. It’s a win-win for the pub-goer and the pub. January can be a bit bleak. Sitting inside a pub with people you enjoy never is. Heck, you might even consider keeping it up in February.