Spectrum News by Patrick Thomas

North Carolina has one of the most successful craft brewing industries in the country but is caught in the middle of a global trade war.

The North Carolina Craft Brewers Guild lists more than 400 independently owned breweries and brewpubs in the state.

Business owners and brewers are steadily tracking the impacts of tariffs on breweries in North Carolina.

A roundtable hosted by Democratic Congresswoman Deborah Ross gathered at the Trophy Brewing Company on Maywood Avenue in Raleigh, the main production site, to talk about how local businesses could be hit by this global trade war. 

Uncertainty remained the word of the moment for business leaders in the area on Thursday.

Les Stewart, the co-owner and chief brewing officer of Trophy Brewing, said planning, navigating supply chains and overseeing operations are all touched by the lack of clarity on how long this will last.

“We need to protect against the idea of uncertainty,” Stewart said. “I was home-brewing back in the day when North Carolina was experiencing their craft beer boom and fell in love with craft beer and making beer.” 

What Stewart doesn’t love is the unpredictable nature of a global trade war between China and the U.S.

“Right now it is just a thorn in our side that has no potential benefit,” Stewart said.

The brew master said these tariffs are indirectly increasing packaging costs for aluminum canning by 3-5%.

“We even buy American-made aluminum cans, but some of that bulk aluminum comes from Canada. And when those prices go up, those costs are passed down. And it affects us,” Stewart said. 

Stewart said President Donald Trump's 25% tariffs on all steel and aluminum imported into the states are having residual impacts. 

“Not knowing means that it is our ability to to do any long-term planning. In this case, I'm not even talking about very long-term planning. I'm talking about six months, eight months, 12 months to make beer and to get all the ingredients, including the packaging in place that has been printed and everything else,” Stewart said.

Trump touted progress on free trade agreements during a visit from the Italian prime minister. 

“It’s happening now. Everybody wants to make a deal,” Trump said.

The executive director of the North Carolina Craft Brewers Guild, Lisa Parker, emailed a statement regarding the administration’s decision to engage in an international trade faceoff with China and much of the world.

“The U.S. Craft beer industry as a whole is concerned about what tariffs will mean for our production costs. The tariffs on steel and aluminum imports are expected to increase costs on aluminum cans and steel production equipment, significantly impacting our small breweries, who are particularly vulnerable to price increases. With most N.C. craft beer being packaged in aluminum cans, breweries across our state have invested in packaging equipment specifically designed to fill cans vs. bottles. And, while we have not yet seen cost increases on our malting grains coming from Canada and Europe, we anticipate that this too will raise costs on the production of beer,” Parker wrote.

Stewart said what gives them some immunity against the market fluctuations are the fact they purchase well more than 90% of their raw materials in North Carolina.

“Ninety-five percent of the grain that we use in our beer is grown here in North Carolina,” Stewart said.

He said Trophy Brewing has between 500 to 600 clients as a self-distributed brewer, and the vast majority of the product is sold in the triangle.

Stewart said consumer buying habits have changed since the COVID-19 pandemic. This means there was a smaller decline in purchasing goods in-person born out of the restrictions mandated for the public, naturally curtailing the way people paid for what they want.

He said if inflation is factored into the equation, then it’s realistic to imagine customers may spend less of their money overall.

“We believe that re-investing in our local economy is part of what will make us successful,” Stewart said.

Link to full article: https://spectrumlocalnews.com/nc/charlotte/news/2025/04/18/just-a-thorn-in-our-side