CHARLOTTE, N.C. (QUEEN CITY NEWS) — Inside Town Brewing’s brew house off of West Morehead Street, staff are brewing up what is arguably one of the most locally sourced beers in Charlotte.
But despite its local roots, the brewery’s owner says he is bracing for impact ahead of the Trump Administration’s proposed tariffs on steel and aluminum.
“I think we are all genuinely concerned,” Town Brewing director of operations and VP of Charlotte Independent Brewers Alliance Brandon Stirewalt said.
On weekdays, steam can be seen billowing out of steel vessels as brewers carefully craft next week’s batch of beer.
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“I mean, it is a hand-made artisan product that we are manufacturing,” Stirewalt said.
A hand-crafted, locally sourced product that’s made in steel and sold in stores across the state in aluminum. Both materials are primarily made in Canada and face a potential 25% tariff as early as next month.
“We’ve definitely had our finger on the pulse and have been watching really with a microscope to see when these things are going to kick in because we do know that they are coming, and we are trying to brace for impact at this point,” he said.
As of early 2025, the Brewers Association estimated beer in aluminum cans accounts for 75% of craft breweries packages volume and revenue. If imports of the metal face an extra charge at the border, Stirewalt says he and other owners would likely have to raise prices.
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“Running a small business to pay our employees, keep our doors open, keep where we are at, and keep moving forward as a business, we have to keep that operational margin, so, unfortunately, some of those prices are going to have to be reflected in our end cost,” he said.
The tariff impact doesn’t stop at kegs, manufacturing equipment, and cans. Despite 95% of Town Brewing’s grain coming from North Carolina soil, Stirewalt says pressure on local farms to produce more could reflect in higher prices or even shortages.
“We are trying to come up with plans to mitigate, but again, at the speed at which this is happening, I don’t think that we have found anything that is really bulletproof at all yet in any way,” he said.
If implemented, tariffs on aluminum are expected to have the quickest impact on local breweries.
The post “Bracing for impact”: How the proposed tariffs on steel and aluminum could affect local breweries first appeared on Enegxi News – News As It’s Happening.
