an interesting factoid from an article on another site:
"Of the nearly 4,300 breweries operating in 2015, more than 3,900 of them produced fewer than 7,500 barrels. That means 91 percent of American craft brewers account for only 1.5 percent of the total production of the nation’s beer industry."
Everyone is always asking when the bubble will burst...well with a stat like that, I think the bubble can sustain quite a bit more growth before we talk about it bursting ...especially if it continues to eat into big beer production while simultaneously only slowly increasing its own...
Another quote from the same editorial:
"The new wave of smaller brewers, often based on the taproom model, frequently have few, if any, intentions of selling beer outside of their four walls. It’s a financially smart model in a capital hungry, expensive industry. It also invites some insularity, where in the absence of a need to engage the outside market, brewers retreat to their own houses and don’t interact with others."
This would explain both the successes of breweries that we rarely mention (Hop Farm, East End, Roundabout, Full Pint, etc...) as well as explain why they don't necessarily feel the need to participate as much in the community.