BUY LOCAL: Seventh Tap brews through supply chain struggles

SHREVEPORT, La. (KSLA) - As the Seventh Tap gears up to celebrate one year of craft beer success at its permanent home on Linwood Avenue — the small brewery is also concurrently contending with supply chain issues and the consequences of record-high inflation.

Sam Norton, a co-founder of the Seventh Tap said prices are up — from ingredients to cans and kegs — which can be challenging for smaller breweries. Norton said the brewery is staying nimble and getting used to the price hikes.

“We’re able to just focus on getting what we need on hand and further in advance and keep tabs on inventory a little better,” he explained. “You may be able to find things, but it’s so expensive, it doesn’t even make sense.”

Norton said the price of aluminum beer cans and kegs has soared 20 to 30 percent.

“Right now, some of that supply has dwindled to nothing,” Norton said. “We’ve got contracts worked up for cans that should allow us to get those on a regular basis.”

Key ingredients for beer, like grain, are also harder to come by, Norton added.

“There’s bigger breweries out there that are buying up all the grain, kind of just hoarding it basically, so they have that supply,” Norton said. “We don’t have the financial capability to buy a bulk load of grain and store it here.”

Fortunately, Norton believes they won’t have to raise beer prices, but that could change — considering how volatile the market is.

“There may be a dollar price increase on a beer here and there for a four-pack,” he said. “That may be because we are spending more money to do certain things to that beer on the production side.”

For now, Norton said he’s grateful the community has been so supportive and welcoming of the Seventh Tap. The best solution to the added costs of supply chain issues, he said, is to keep drinking local.

“Just keep coming to the taproom, buying our beer and have a good time,” he said.

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