In 2011, the headlines were about new local breweries, ongoing growth, and the hundreds of breweries in planning. The sheer number has become a conversation itself.

Almost every regional craft brewery seems to have either undergone a major expansion or has drawn up blueprints for a build-out. Also, 11 more breweries joined the category.

New breweries are popping up nationwide almost every week now. But the real news in this wave of recent growth may actually be that the “old breweries” are getting bigger.

The big brewers in 2011 seem to have woken up and at least have recognized the challenges posed by craft beer, spirits, wine, and non-alcoholic energy drinks.

During the late 1990s, when craft beer growth slowed to single digits, many breweries who branched out into distant territories now find that they overextended themselves.

It isn’t too great a leap to wonder whether contracts could prove to be the lifeblood of the next wave of craft growth, or at least play a more significant role going forward.

With solid support lined up, expectations increase for a tipping point where craft brewers grow capacity, production, and sales and emerge from their niche origins to broad appeal.

Most breweries lack a data-driven infrastructure offering the information needed for decision-making in an environment experiencing exponential growth.

Craft beer is part of a much larger phenomenon, rooted in a long-term evolution of American society and culture that’s still progressing.