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The idea for this ramble came about when I was talking to an old friend at a baby shower. To be clear it wasn\u2019t his<\/em> baby shower, he was just another guy with a mustache I was neighbors with back in college and I knew we could talk about beer and facial hair instead of babies. He also used to work at Iron Horse a few years ago and naturally has some friends at other breweries, where he had recently heard the phrase \u201cflat is the new up.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n I remember hearing something similar years ago when an economist was describing post-bubble market corrections, and the full <\/em>quote was \u201cflat is the new up, down is the new flat and dead is the new down.\u201d Given the craft beer landscape I would guess this is something that breweries all over have been saying a lot these past couple years. It\u2019s rough out there and the accumulating number of brewery closures is ominous.<\/p>\n Naturally, some headlines about breweries closing hit harder than others, like Rogue. Rogue Ales & Spirits has been a staple in the PNW for 37 years, and abruptly closed all of its locations mid-November 2025, blindsiding its employees right before Thanksgiving & Christmas\u2026 Brutal. Apparently they had over a half million dollars in debt from back rent and taxes, but this is ultimately just another painful bullet point in the broader conversation about the downward trend of craft brewing thanks in large part to supply chain issues, inflation, tariff chaos and declining sales.<\/p>\n But here\u2019s the weird thing\u2026 Iron Horse Brewery is actually kind of up<\/em>. Not as in \u201cflat is the new up\u201d up, but slightly \u201cUP\u201d up in a few categories. I mean it\u2019s not like anyone is getting rich but our revenue increased significantly these past couple years and our costs are mostly lowering controllably. \u201cWTF, how?\u201d Rogue was much bigger than IHB, so you\u2019d think they\u2019d be harder to topple, but (in this case<\/em>) bigger doesn\u2019t necessarily mean better, or more stable. Rogue had much higher operating costs and they made some risky investments that didn\u2019t pay out in the long run (see their investment into THC seltzers to learn more on that point<\/em>).<\/p>\n Here are a few factors and decisions that have been paying off for Iron Horse:\u00a0<\/p>\n AND it\u2019s worth noting that we pay close attention to market trends as they start to emerge. Single-serves started to become more popular (tall boys), so we quickly got Irish Death and Oddstock Crisp into 19.2oz cans, and we\u2019re in the process producing more 19.2oz options for 2026. Quilter\u2019s Irish Death is our bread and butter, and despite dark beer being a shrinking niche, we capitalize on being the <\/em>\u201ceveryday dark craft beer\u201d brewery, while still allocating time and resources into growing<\/em> markets like hard cider on the side to supplement revenue during seasonal dips.<\/p>\n We\u2019re not immune to market fluctuations or economic impacts, but we are pretty crafty and so far have figured out ways to keep the lights on in an otherwise dark time for the craft brewery world. Flat may be the new up like people are saying, but it\u2019s no time to be pessimistic and throw in the towel since clearly there are still some promising pockets of craft breweries staying \u201cup\u201d up, thanks to some clever footwork. Sadly, Rogue\u2019s Dead Guy Ale may be living up to its name now, but Irish Death isn\u2019t headed towards the grave just yet. We\u2019ll keep juking out Death as long as we can\u2026 we\u2019ve gotten pretty good at it in the last 21 years.<\/p>\n Do you notice any emerging markets that you think Iron Horse could dabble in? What do you wish IHB would do for the world? We\u2019re always open to suggestions and appreciate your feedback, as long as it\u2019s not just \u201cbring back Peanut Butter Death\u201d again. Let us know by emailing your ideas to RileySchmit@IronHorseBrewery.com<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n
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