Skip to Content
Podcast

RacketCast, Ep. 23: Wait, IS MN Beer In Trouble? Feat. David Berg of Schell’s

This bonus ep explores the dreaded 'craft beer bubble.'

Dave Berg of August Schell Brewing Co.

|Instagram: @schellsbeer

Last fall Racket surveyed 44 Minnesota brewing pros and found that 63.6% believe the industry is in a positive place—not bad!

Last month Racket highlighted Axios reporting that showed a 10.8% boost in Minnesota craft brewery production last year—nice!

But David Berg, the longtime brewmaster at August Schell Brewing Co., isn't convinced by those types of cheery reports, and he recently got all up in our Bluesky mentions to say as much.

"The brewing industry is pretty much in dire straits right now," Berg says. "I think it's a disservice to the industry to present it in any other fashion. It's as bleak as it's been in the 20 years I've been part of it."

Are Minnesota breweries in trouble? And, if so, how much? As the number of craft breweries throughout our state shoots past 200, is the long-murmured-about "craft beer bubble" finally ready to pop?

We got Berg on the horn to pick his considerable beer brain about the darker forces that might brewing on his industry's horizon.


Subscribe to RacketCast wherever you get your podcasts—Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Pocket Casts, etc. Wanna advertise on RacketCast? Email us at advertise@racketmn.com. Special thanks to local band Van Stee for supplying our podcast music!

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More Stories

SCOTUS Tramples Trans Rights: How MN Did—and Didn’t—Respond

Plus punks fight for their rights, an ode to strip malls, and why the Nation nominated Minneapolis for the Nobel Peace Prize in today's Flyover news roundup.

Lots of New Coffee Shops Debut, a few Local Chains Expand, and a Very Old Bar Is Back in Action

Plus a new Somali dessert spot is in the works and we say goodbye to a Richfield favorite in the Racket Restaurant Roundup.

June 30, 2026

It’s Almost Independence Day and It’s Your Complete Concert Calendar: June 30-July 6

Pretty much all the music you can catch in the Twin Cities this week.

When Nice Folks Make Cruel Choices: Journalist Justin Ellis on MN’s History of ‘Unaccounted for Repression, Rage, Discrimination, and White Supremacy’

In his book, 'The Cruelty of Nice Folks,' Ellis looks at how when it comes to race, Minneapolis is trapped in cycles of good intentions and failure to follow through.

Walking 1,776 Miles for Better Mental Health Resources in Rural Minnesota

Owatonna native Jason Lennox is raising funds for addiction recovery the hard way this summer.

June 30, 2026