The craft beer industry in Louisiana has hit a plateau. Six new breweries opened over the last year, but five others shut their doors. Executive director of Louisiana’s Craft Brewer’s Guild Cary Koch blames antiquated state laws.

“There’s some red tape in the state that needs to be cut for the sake of small business,” said Koch.

Koch says the increased competition from neighboring states is also a factor, saying many of those states have laws that have kept up with the changes in the industry.

“We’re seeing those breweries expand doubly, exponentially faster than a Louisiana brewery, then come back and get distributed in our state against our oldest craft breweries,” said Koch.

In Louisiana, the three-tier system of having a brewer, distributor, and a retailer is cutting into the ability to stay afloat. Koch says of the outdated business models that brewers have to deal with is the lack of the ability to self-distribute product.

“I can’t tell you that there is one reason why brewers are going out of business, but I can tell you that other states that see this happening, they are doing things to help,” said Koch.

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