ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Even if you’re not a beer lover, local taprooms offer people a place to hang out and connect. For those who do love sipping suds, La Cumbre Brewing Company on Girard Boulevard is a popular place for a Tuesday afternoon.

La Cumbre Brewing Company President, Jeff Erway, loves to see customers clinking glasses and enjoying their handmade brews. But, he says since the pandemic, it’s all about their canned beers, calling cans the “bread and butter” of the industry.

“Draft completely vanished, so cans were already a big portion of our business, but cans just became way more of a portion of our business,” Erway said.

According to Erway, all the raw aluminum for La Cumbre’s cans are imported from Canada, and they’re about to get more expensive.

President Donald Trump placed a 25% tariff on all aluminum and steel imports earlier this month. Erway is grateful all their steel fermenting tanks are already in place, but they produce two and a half million cans of beer a year.

“This tariff could end up costing us about $100,000,” he said.

It’s another blow for craft brewers. Price increases on ingredients and declining interest in craft beers has brought challenges for Erway and other brewers.

“We’re definitely still writing with the correct color ink and everything, but it’s definitely been a tough last few years, that’s for sure,” he said.

Erway expects to take a big hit to his bottom line but doesn’t know yet if you’ll have to pay more for your four-pack of Elevated IPA.

“Our consumers are as price conscious today as they’ve ever been, and you know all of us breweries are going to be doing our best to keep our prices as reasonable as we can,” said Erway.

Executive Director of New Mexico Brewer’s Guild, Ebbie Edmonston, said breweries are definitely preparing for the impact these tariffs will cause:

“The recent tariffs on steel and aluminum will have a noticeable impact on New Mexico breweries, particularly mid to large brewery operations. Aluminum cans are the primary packaging choice for many breweries and any price increase on imported aluminum could drive up production costs.

For local breweries, this could mean higher prices for packaged products, tighter profit margins, or the need to explore alternative packaging options. However, some breweries might offset costs through bulk purchasing or even shifting toward more sustainable packaging- we might even see the return of the glass growler.”