In April 2024, workers distributing Heavy Riff beer had to call on the U.S. Embassy USDA staff in South Korea for assistance. They were in Seoul for the Korea International Beer Expo (KIBEX), one of the largest beer festivals in the world, and the Heavy Riff booth was being overrun by thirsty patrons eager to get samples of Dear Agony, Heavy Riff’s bourbon-barrel-aged double milk stout. Demand was so intense that they had to enlist embassy staff to help pour.
The scene might have sent Hagen’s mind home to Dogtown, where every winter, people from all over the U.S. would line up around the block to get their hands on the latest Dear Agony variant. But while Heavy Riff’s signature BA stout remains popular, the crowds queuing up for craft beer around the country are not what they used to be. In 2022, American craft beer sales were going flat for the first time outside of the pandemic – a stagnation that seems to be slipping into a decline. Brewers everywhere are trying to keep their bubble from bursting. Some have streamlined production to reduce costs; others have narrowed their focus to regional and hyper-local markets. Meanwhile, Heavy Riff Brewing is thinking about Asia.
“Asia is on fire for American craft beer,” says Heavy Riff co-owner Rick Hagen. “West Coast breweries had been sending beer to Asia, so my radar was already up. When I saw the local beer market go into this mini recession, my thought was that we should look to sending beers overseas.”
Through an export development program facilitated by the Brewer’s Association (BA), the U.S. craft beer trade association, dozens of American breweries have found outlets for their beer in foreign markets all over the globe. But this trans-Pacific opportunity comes at a particularly ideal time for many brewers like Hagen. “One Seven-Eleven 7 has 11 of our beers on their shelves,” says Hagen. “We’re really pleased with what we’ve been able to accomplish. It’s made up for what we’ve lost in the domestic slump.”
Hagen says Heavy Riff hasn’t had to ramp up production to meet overseas demand – though they have had to adjust for subtle differences in foreign taste. For instance, while hoppier hazy IPAs like Disco Apocalypse and Prison Bound are wildly popular in Japan, the vanilla-forward Love Gun cream ale has been slower to catch on (it seems vanilla is not a familiar flavor in Japanese beer). So, the brewery has developed a version of Love Gun with chestnuts that’s more geared to Japanese palates.
Meanwhile, South Koreans go nuts for the sweeter Love Gun – and, of course, bottles of Dear Agony. In fact, they didn’t couldn’t wait for the shipment. “Last June, the Korean distributor came to taste some of our cellar stock from 2021,” says Hagen. “They bought 142 cases of Dear Agony, the whole inventory.”
This article appears in March 2025.