BRUSSELS — European Union countries are buying too much of their defense equipment abroad, almost two-thirds of it in the United States, and failing to invest enough in joint military projects, a landmark report on EU competitiveness warned Monday.

The 27 member states are also failing to make best use of Europe’s research and development capacities to modernize their armed forces, with just a fraction the level of U.S. investment, said the report by former Italian prime minister and European Central Bank chief Mario Draghi.

The report comes as the EU continues to struggle to find enough weapons and ammunition to help Ukraine survive the full-scale Russian invasion, now in its third year, and to kickstart Europe’s defense industry.

“Europe is wasting its common resources. We have large collective spending power, but we dilute it across multiple different national and EU instruments,” said Draghi’s report, which has been a year in the making and is likely to fuel an overhaul of the bloc’s industrial strategy.

Part of the problem, it said, is failing to invest properly in Europe to create stronger defense firms.

“We are still not joining forces in the defense industry to help our companies to integrate and reach scale,” it said. The report pointed out that “we also do not favor competitive European defense companies.”

The report notes that, between mid-2022 and mid-2023, 63% of all EU defense orders were placed with U.S. companies, and a further 15% with other non-EU suppliers. Last week, the Netherlands joined a list of EU members to order big budget U.S.-made F-35 warplanes.

Across the 27 nations in 2022, defense research and development spending amounted to 10.7 billion euros ($11.8 billion) — just 4.5% of the total — compared with $140 billion in the United States, or around 16% of all defense spending.

NATO allies — almost all of whose members are part of the EU — have been ramping up defense spending since Russia annexed Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula in 2014. Their aim is for each country to spend at least 2% of gross domestic product on their national defense budget.

Consecutive U.S. leaders have been exhorting European allies and Canada to spend more on defense for more than a decade, although former President Donald Trump was the only one to threaten to refuse to defend any country that did not respect the goal. Much of the money goes back to U.S. industry.

NATO forecasts that 23 of its 32 members will meet or exceed the 2% target by the end of the year, up from just three countries in 2014. Western defense spending has been further spurred by Russia’s fully fledged invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

On top of this, NATO allies also want to dedicate at least 20% of their national defense expenditures to major new equipment. That includes funds for research and development, which is crucial for modernizing their armed forces.

The report highlighted the shortcomings of countries investing in their national defense industry rather than joint procurement. When Ukraine appealed for artillery, for example, EU countries supplied 10 types of howitzers. Some use different 155mm shells, causing logistical headaches.

In contrast, the A-330 Multi-Role Tanker Transport plane was developed jointly, and this allowed participating countries to pool resources and share operating and maintenance costs.

HOUSTON – FEMA is monitoring Tropical Storm Francine as it rapidly approaches southeast Texas and portions of Louisiana, bringing heavy rain, flooding and life-threatening storm surge. People in the storm’s potential path should closely monitor the weather, follow directions from local officials and evacuate immediately if told to do so.

10 AM Monday Update: Tropical Storm Francine forms, here’s what we expect in Houston and Galveston areas

The National Hurricane Center has issued a hurricane watch for parts of Louisiana and a tropical storm watch is in effect for parts of Texas and Louisiana. Winds up to 50 mph are expected as the storm gradually intensifies as it approaches Louisiana and the upper Texas coastline. Tropical storm force winds may extend up to 160 miles from the center. About 4-8 inches of heavy rainfall are expected, which could lead to flash and urban flooding.

FEMA continues to work closely with the states of Texas and Louisiana and stands ready to support local and state efforts. The FEMA Region 6 Response Coordination Center is activated and prepared to coordinate deployment of additional people and resources if requested.

Stay informed. People in these areas should continue to follow the instructions of state and local officials by monitoring local radio or television stations for updated emergency information.

Have a plan.  Make sure you consider your family’s unique needs, including anyone who needs medicine or medical equipment. Know how you’ll contact one another and reconnect if you aren’t together when a severe storm hits. Visit Ready.gov or Listo.gov (Spanish language) for more information on how to stay safe before, during and after severe weather.

Know how to stay safe during high winds, storm surge and flooding. Determine how best to protect yourself from high winds and flooding. Evacuate immediately if you are told to do so. If you cannot evacuate, take refuge in a designated storm shelter or an interior room for high winds. Go to the highest level of the building if you are trapped by flooding. Do not climb into a closed attic. You may become trapped by rising flood water.

Be in the know about your evacuation route. Be prepared to evacuate quickly, if told to do so. Act now by learning your evacuation routes, practice with your household and pets, and identify where you will stay. Learn more about how to evacuate safely on Ready.gov and Listo.gov (Spanish language).

Turn Around. Don’t Drown. Driving through a flooded area can be extremely hazardous. Almost half of all flash flood deaths happen in vehicles. When in your car, look out for flooding in low lying areas at bridges and at highway dips. As little as 6 inches of water may cause you to lose control of your vehicle or fall if you are walking through it. Two feet of rushing water can carry away most vehicles including sport utility vehicles (SUVs) and pick-ups.

Stay out of floodwater. Walking, swimming or driving through flood waters is extremely dangerous. Standing water may be electrically charged from underground or downed power lines or contain hazards such as wild or stray animals, human and livestock waste and chemicals that can lead to illness.

NOW is the time to prepare:  Download the free FEMA App available in English and Spanish languages to receive real-time weather alerts and find local emergency shelters in your area. You can find more hurricane preparedness information on Ready.gov and Listo.gov (Spanish language).

Other Important Tips:

Hurricanes can affect power systems, causing power outages. If the power goes out, use only flashlights or battery-powered lanterns for emergency lighting. Never use candles during a blackout or power outage due to extreme risk of fire.

Remember, gas pumps, automated teller machines (ATMs), medical equipment, computers, cell phone chargers, grocery store checkout counters, escalators and elevators may not work during a power outage.

When using generators, always use them outdoors and at least 20 feet from windows, doors and attached garages. Make sure to keep the generator dry and protected from rain or flooding.

GMR Airports Infrastructure Ltd plans to increase its stake in Delhi International Airport Ltd, India’s largest, to 74% by acquiring an additional 10% from Fraport AG Frankfurt Airport Services Worldwide for around $126 million.

The transaction, subject to the approval of the Airports Authority of India and shareholders, is expected to be concluded within 180 days of executing the share-purchase agreement, the company informed the stock exchanges after the close of market hours on Monday. State-run AAI owns 26% of the paid-up capital of Delhi airport.

The proposed stake sale by Fraport meets Sebi’s requisite related-party transaction norms, GMR Airports said in the statement.

In January 2006, the GMR group-led consortium was awarded the concession to operate, manage and develop the Indira Gandhi International Airport of Delhi following an international competitive bidding process. The initial term of the concession period is 30 years, extendable by another 30 years.

The consortium of GMR Group (54%), Malaysia Airports (Naiga) Sdn Bhd (10%) and Fraport AG Frankfurt Services Worldwide (10%) signed the operations, management and development agreement on 4 April 2006 with the AAI (26%).

In 2015, GMR group increased its stake in Delhi airport to 64% by acquiring 10% equity for around $79 million from Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad, which sold the minority stake as it did not give it any “influence” in the venture.

Delhi airport is India’s largest and busiest, managing about 20% of the country’s domestic and international traffic. In FY24, it handled 73.7 million passengers, up 12.8% from the previous financial year. Delhi airport’s three terminals have an annual capacity of around 104 million passengers.

“The acquisition of additional stake in DIAL is in line with our objective of consolidating our presence in core assets of the Group and signifies the importance of Delhi airport in the overall Group portfolio,” said Kiran Kumar Grandhi, corporate chairman of GMR Group, in the statement.

Fraport is a German transport company that operates the airport in Frankfurt am Main and holds interests in the operation of several other airports around the world. It also offers ground-handling services.

In Lower Manhattan, there are two memorials that represent where the World Trade Center once towered over the rest of the city. And around those sites are the names of the 2,753 people who died there more than 23 years ago.

But in those near 24 years, this has become a reality, too.

“More people have died after 9/11 than on the attack,” said Bridget Gormley.

She, unfortunately, understands this statistic first-hand. In 2017, Gormley’s dad, New York City firefighter Billy Gormley, died from bladder cancer.

It’s one of the several dozen diseases now connected to the toxic dust so many New Yorkers breathed in Lower Manhattan after the September 11 terrorist attacks.

Tens of thousands of people have gotten sick. People continue to pass away from these illnesses.

“What a lot of people don’t realize is that 9/11 didn’t end on 9/11,” said Gormley.  

More people are learning that at the 9/11 Memorial Museum, thanks to one of its newest exhibits.

It’s called “Dust: Illness and Advocacy After 9/11.” The newest exhibit has been years in the making, according to museum president Elizabeth Hillman.

People can see the toxins tested; the lives the dust destroyed; the long fight to get funding to support these victims.

“I think the more we can learn from the way government responds and people respond to the aftermath of catastrophe, it helps us understand what kind of accountability we should anticipate in the future,” said Hillman.

The response to the air quality downtown has come under scrutiny.

In the days after the terrorist attacks, Christine Todd Whitman, the head of the U.S. EPA at the time, declared the downtown air safe. It’s something she apologized for years later.

But the air quality testing was not just a federal response.

Last year, several city agencies were sent an extensive 28-part public records request for documents on  things like testing done, daily updates provided to then Mayor Rudy Giuliani, and when to re-open parts of Lower Manhattan.

This summer, NY1 reported that both New York City Emergency Management and Department of Environmental Protection, or DEP, responded, both saying they have no documents.

Emergency Management didn’t respond to NY1’s request for comment. DEP referred NY1 to City Hall, where a spokesperson said that the response “would require extensive legal review to identify privileged material and liability risk.”

That is not the same as having no documents.

“Well, look, if they’re violating [Freedom of Information Law], that’s a big problem,” said Rep. Dan Goldman, the democrat who represents Lower Manhattan. “That’s illegal.”

When asked if he believes the city is violating the law regulating the release of public documents, he said he didn’t know yet. 

“I don’t know enough of the details,” he said, before elaborating. “But what – if in fact their responses that there are no documents and yet there – the documents do exist and there are some documents related to this, and I’d be very surprised if there are not, that is a violation of FOIL.”

Goldman wrote a letter with Rep. Jerry Nadler this year, imploring the city to release the files.

“There’s an ongoing need, a public health need to understand what was in the air at that time which will help doctors and medical professionals treat survivors,” he said.

But then there’s the issue about why that spokesperson in the mayor’s office said the city is not turning anything over because of potential privilege and liability. 

While privilege is a FOIL exemption, liability is not, according to Cory Morris, a lawyer who has battled the city several times over public records.

“The exemptions are clear,” he said.

While he said some documents and files could be redacted with good reason, a total denial?

“I’m at a loss for words,” he said.

There’s been a lawsuit filed to get these documents from DEP already. But the fight, Morris said, may only be just beginning.

“I think this will drag on for years and it shouldn’t,” he said.

Civilians accounted for 93 per cent of the global casualties from cluster munitions in 2023, according to the 100-page Cluster Munition Monitor 2024, produced by the Cluster Munition Coalition, an international civil society group working in over 100 countries.

Children made up nearly half of all people killed and injured by cluster munition remnants in 2023

“Actions by countries that have not banned cluster munitions are putting civilians at risk and threatening the integrity and universality of the international treaty prohibiting these abhorrent weapons,” said Tamar Gabelnick, director of the Cluster Munition Coalition, which will present the report to the 12th Meeting of States parties to the Convention on Cluster Munitions at the UN in Geneva on 10 to 13 September.

Indeed, children made up nearly half of all people killed and injured by cluster munition remnants in 2023, and attacks also had direct and devastating impacts on civilian objects, including schools and hospitals, according to the report.

“It is imperative that all countries join the Convention on Cluster Munitions and help fulfil its goal of putting an end to suffering and casualties caused by cluster munitions,” Mr. Gabelnick said.

New violations reported

A total of 112 States have joined the ban, including South Sudan, the last country to accede to the convention, which prohibits cluster munitions and requires destruction of stockpiles and clearance of areas contaminated by cluster munition remnants – as well as the provision of risk education and assistance to victims.

While there have been no reports or allegations of new use of cluster munitions by any State party since the convention was adopted in May 2008, the weapons were deployed in Ukraine by both Russian and Ukrainian forces in 2023 and through the time of publication of the latest monitoring report.

The number of manufacturers has increased to 17 from 16 since 2023, with Myanmar now producing cluster munitions alongside the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Republic of Korea, Brazil, China, Egypt, Greece, India, Iran, Israel, Pakistan, Poland, Romania, Russia, Singapore, Türkiye and the US, none of whom are party to the global treaty.

New use of these weapons was also recorded in Myanmar and Syria during the reporting period, according to the report, which provides an overview of the implementation of and adherence to the convention.

Deadly legacy

Like landmines, cluster munitions leave behind a deadly legacy felt long after battles end. Many of these submunitions fail to explode on initial impact, leaving remnants that indiscriminately injure and kill for years until they are cleared and destroyed.

According to Cluster Munition Monitor 2024, a total of 28 countries and other areas are contaminated or suspected to be contaminated by cluster munition remnants, including 10 States parties to the convention.

Contamination from cluster munition remnants makes it perilous and difficult to access agricultural land, further endangering lives and livelihoods in affected areas.

This was particularly notable in Ukraine, where there is indication that more agricultural land is contaminated by cluster munition remnants than by anti-personnel and anti-vehicle landmines combined.

In war-torn Gaza, which has been bombarded daily by Israeli forces for almost one year, clearing unexploded ordnance would take years and cost millions of dollars to make the land safe, experts told UN News earlier this year.

Alarming consequences and casualties

Cluster munitions cause severe blast, burn and fragmentation injuries that result in life-long medical and rehabilitation needs for most survivors.

While some progress has been made in victim assistance, the report stated that significant challenges persist, particularly in countries like Afghanistan and Lebanon, where healthcare systems are strained.

The new report also found that Ukraine recorded the highest number of annual cluster munition casualties in the world for the second consecutive year, though the actual number of casualties is thought to be significantly higher than the number recorded.

Cluster munitions have killed and injured over one thousand people in Ukraine since Russia’s full-scale invasion of the country in February 2022.

Updates on clearing efforts

The report flagged a decrease in the area cleared of cluster munition remnants in 2023 compared to the previous year.

It further highlighted the need for sustained funding and support to ensure that contaminated States parties can meet their clearance obligations.

“States that have joined the convention face ongoing challenges in clearing land contaminated by cluster munition remnants due to limited funding and capacities and difficulties in accessing contaminated areas because of security issues or challenging terrain,” said Katrin Atkins, editor for contamination, clearance and risk education reporting in the Cluster Munition Monitor.

Major milestone

In August 2023, Bosnia and Herzegovina became the ninth State party to complete clearance of cluster munition contaminated areas, in accordance with the obligations set by the Convention on Cluster Munitions.

The convention reached a major milestone last December when Peru completed the destruction of its stockpiled cluster munitions, becoming the last State party to complete this obligation.

That means States parties have now collectively destroyed 100 per cent of their declared cluster munition stocks, destroying 1.49 million cluster munitions and 179 million submunitions.

New trends unfolding

However, alarming developments are unfolding, Ms. Atkins explained.

“In many affected States parties, more contaminated areas are discovered even as the known ones are cleared,” she said.

In addition, Lithuania enacted a law in July 2024 approving its withdrawal from the Convention on Cluster Munitions.

The withdrawal will take effect six months after Lithuania fulfils the steps for withdrawal required by the convention unless the country retracts this measure or is engaged in armed conflict.

In 2009, during the war in Afghanistan, Marine Corps Sgt. Dakota Louis Meyer spent hours traversing an active combat zone to rescue dozens of trapped men and recover the bodies of four U.S. service members. Despite disobeying orders to do so, Meyer’s actions led him the Medal of Honor. 

Meyer was born June 26, 1988, in Columbia, Kentucky, to Felicia Gilliam and Mike Meyer. He grew up on his father’s farm and enjoyed hunting and playing football.  

After Meyer graduated from Green County High School in 2006, he decided to follow in his grandfather’s footstep and become a Marine. He trained as an infantryman and sniper and deployed to Iraq in 2007. In 2009, Meyer volunteered to go to Afghanistan to be an advisor to the Afghan army, working as a turret gunner attached to Embedded Training Team 2-8, Regional Corps Advisory Command 3-7.  

Shortly before dawn on Sept. 8, 2009, the 21-year-old Meyer was working security at a patrol rally point in Kunar Province while other unit members and two platoons of Afghan soldiers walked into the village of Ganjgal for an early-morning meeting with its elders. 

It was a trap. As the unit moved in, the village’s lights suddenly went out, and the patrol was ambushed. More than 50 Taliban fighters broke the morning silence by firing machine guns, rocket-propelled grenades and mortars from houses and other fortified positions on the slopes above the town. 

Meyer and Staff Sgt. Juan Rodriguez-Chavez were about a mile away when the chaos was broadcast over the radio. When they heard that four U.S. team members — Meyer’s friends — were surrounded, he asked for permission four times to go in and help. Each time, he was told no — it was too dangerous.  

Meyer chose to go in anyway. He hopped into a nearby Humvee and, with Rodriguez-Chavez driving, took the gunner’s position as they drove through steeply terraced terrain into the fight.  

“They were defying orders, but they were doing what they thought was right,” President Barack Obama later said during Meyer’s Medal of Honor ceremony. 

Suddenly, the intense insurgent fire was focused on them. Even though Meyer’s entire upper body was exposed, he ignored the intense fire around him. Using mounted machine guns and a rifle, he took out several insurgents, including some at point-blank range. Meyer and Rodriguez-Chavez made several trips like this into the ambush area. 

During the first two trips, the pair were able to evacuate two-dozen Afghan soldiers, many of whom were wounded. According to Meyer’s Medal of Honor citation, when one of his Humvee’s machine guns stopped working, he directed Rodriguez-Chavez to go back to the rally point to exchange vehicles.  

On their third trip into the ambush area, Meyer used his fire power to help more trapped men fight their way out. By then, their vehicle was riddled with bullets and shrapnel.  

“Those who were there called it the most intense combat they’d ever seen,” Obama later said. “Dakota and Juan would have been forgiven for not going back in. But as Dakota says, you don’t leave anyone behind.” 

Meyer had suffered a shrapnel wound to his arm, but he disregarded the pain and made two more trips into the ambush area to recover more Afghan soldiers, this time with support from other friendly vehicles.  

By their fifth trip into the ambush area, cover fire from a UH-60 Black Hawk had finally arrived to offer air support, according to a 2011 Associated Press article. The helicopter reported that it could see what appeared to be four bodies, so Meyer went to that area to search for his missing team members.  

“He kept going until he came upon those four Americans, laying where they fell, together as one team,” Obama said. “Dakota and the others who had joined him knelt down, picked up their comrades and — through all those bullets, all the smoke, all the chaos — carried them out, one by one. Because, as Dakota says, ‘That’s what you do for a brother.'” 

For his commitment and courage during those harrowing six hours, Meyer received the Medal of Honor on Sept. 15, 2011, during a White House ceremony hosted by Obama, with whom the Marine shared a beer earlier in the week. 

“Because of your honor, 36 men are alive today,” Obama said at the ceremony. “Because of your courage, four fallen American heroes came home, and in the words of James Layton’s mom, [their families] could lay their sons to rest with dignity.” 

Meyer told the president he accepted the award to honor the men who died in the Ganjgal firefight: Marine Corps 1st Lt. Michael Johnson, Marine Corps Gunnery Sgt. Edwin Johnson, Marine Corps Staff Sgt. Aaron Kenefick, Navy Petty Officer 3rd Class James Layton, a medic; and Army Sgt. 1st Class Kenneth Westbrook, who was wounded in the ambush and later died.  

Meyer was the first living Marine to be awarded the Medal of Honor for actions in Iraq or Afghanistan. Only two other Marines from those conflicts were bestowed the high honor: Cpl. Kyle Carpenter, who received the award in 2014 for actions in Afghanistan in 2010; and Cpl. Jason Dunham, who died in Iraq in 2004 and received a posthumous Medal of Honor in 2007. 

Rodriguez-Chavez, who fought with Meyer in Ganjgal, received the Navy Cross for his valor. 

Meyer left the active duty Marine Corps in June 2010. According to the Department of Veterans Affairs, he took a job at a construction site and worked for the Marine Corps Scholarship Foundation. He’s also spent time as a firefighter and first responder.  

Meyer has co-written two books: “Into the Fire,” about the Battle of Ganjgal; and “The Way Forward,” which focuses on life lessons after war. He continues to work with service members, visiting various military installations and taking part in the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Hiring Our Heroes initiative. He’s also a vocal advocate for post-traumatic stress disorder awareness, something which he suffers from and has sought treatment.  

Meyer continues to be honored by his community. In 2011, he earned an honorary doctorate degree from Lindsey Wilson College in his hometown. A portion of Highway 61 in Columbia was also named for him.  

Meyer has two daughters and is an active church member.  

This article is part of a weekly series called “Medal of Honor Monday,” in which we highlight one of the more than 3,500 Medal of Honor recipients who have received the U.S. military’s highest medal for valor.

The Boston Globe

New England breweries are facing a sobering truth: Craft beer is no longer the hopped-up industry it once was. Why did the buzz fade away?

By Jon Chesto, The Boston Globe

updated on September 5, 2024

Millennials are getting too old to hit the pub every night. Many Gen Zers prefer cannabis to beer. And a number of breweries are increasingly pushing ciders, seltzers and other spiked drinks.

In other words, the once-heady craft beer business has lost its fizz.

It’s a story that’s playing out across New England as the industry consolidates following years of rapid expansion.

In recent weeks, the owners of Jack’s Abby in Framingham acquired Wormtown, Worcester’s oldest and busiest brewery. The parent company of New Hampshire’s Smuttynose recently reached a deal to acquire Wachusett. Dorchester Brewing has taken over Aeronaut. Ipswich Ale hooked up with Riverwalk.

Meanwhile, some brands are going away — Distraction Brewing in Roslindale has said it will shut down at the end of the month, while stalwart Cambridge Brewing Co. in Kendall Square will go dark at the end of the year.

“The shakeout is absolutely here, there’s no question,” said Dan Kenary, chief executive of Harpoon parent company Mass. Bay Brewing. “A week does not go by when I am not approached about wanting to take a look at a brewery looking to sell, go out of business, or merge.”

Have we reached an era of Peak Craft? All signs point to yes.

Last year, 15 breweries opened in the state, while 11 closed, according to the Massachusetts Brewers Guild and local blog Mass. Brew Bros. That net gain of four was the smallest increase since 2010, when there were just 48 breweries in Massachusetts. At the start of this year, there were 235.

Nationwide, overall beer sales have been flat or declining for years — largely due to soft sales of mass-market mainstays like Bud Light and Miller Light. Craft beer had posed a bright spot, eventually growing enough market share to account for roughly one-fourth of all spending on beer in the United States.

But now, even craft has plateaued. Craft beer sales volume fell 1 percent last year, per Brewers Association data, compared to a 5 percent drop for all beer. The total number of breweries, meanwhile, ticked up less than 1 percent to 9,900.

The only growth could be found in taprooms — breweries that primarily offer on-premise drinking with limited or no food menus. The number of craft brewers who sell through wholesalers had already started to decline and liquor store shelves were getting crowded with alternatives. (The beer wholesale industry, too, is going through its own consolidation, and distributors are trying to streamline their crowded craft offerings.)

Even Boston Beer Co., whose flagship lager made Sam Adams a household name, has long pivoted to other drinks such as hard cider and tea to propel growth. In each of the past two years, Boston Beer reported around 85 percent of its volume came from alcoholic beverages other than beer.

“What you’re seeing in Massachusetts very much mirrors the national trend,” said Bart Watson, the Brewers Association’s chief economist. “We had this era of explosive growth where breweries were opening right and left. That’s decelerated. [Today] it feels like we’re kind of moving toward equilibrium.”

Big Beer has taken notice. The country’s two biggest brewers, Anheuser-Busch InBev and Molson Coors, are now unwinding their craft portfolios. Last year, AB InBev sold eight craft brands — such as Shock Top and Redhook — to Canadian cannabis giant Tilray Brands, while Molson Coors made a similar move this month, also by reaching a deal with Tilray.

“The big brewers have decided they’re getting out of this craft business because, ‘Why do it anymore?’ ” said Jenn Litz-Kirk, director of content for trade publication Beer Business Daily. “’Craft is slowing. That’s not our core competence. We need to focus.’”

Kenary said he noticed that regional craft brewers, relatively larger players that mostly sell through distributors, peaked roughly a decade ago. Microbrewers and taprooms continued to grow, but even those corners of the industry have lost their buzz. Kenary cofounded Harpoon, one of Massachusetts’ first craft brewers, and said he hoped to help stoke a vibrant beer culture in the United States. He and his peers succeeded “beyond our wildest freaking dreams,” Kenary said, and then rode the rising tide.

But lately, he said, it feels like that tide has been going out.

To a large extent, the plateau reflects generational drinking habits. Craft beer rose to prominence as millennials reached legal drinking age. But they’re getting older, raising kids and cutting back on the late nights on the town. Gen Z seems to be much less interested in the latest super-hoppy IPA or double barrel aged stout. Brewers also say it’s no coincidence that their industry has stalled out as cannabis products have become more widely available.

Then there’s the aftershocks of COVID. Businesses that were starting to struggle going into the pandemic soldiered on with the help of Paycheck Protection Program grants or other government assistance. Now those subsidies have ended.

Esther Tetreault, who owns Trillium with her husband, JC, said the changing nature of work following the pandemic has also had an impact. Trillium’s Canton brewery is next to the headquarters of insurer Point32Health, where many of the roughly 4,400 employees based there are working remotely on any given day. Trillium’s Fort Point brewery, a popular post-work refuge for the Seaport office crowd, still hasn’t bounced back to pre-pandemic levels.

Tetreault knew the craft boom couldn’t go on forever. But she still sounds sad that the party is over.

“Whenever I hear that somebody’s opening a craft brewery, I’m a little surprised,” Tetreault said. “It feels like the timing, and the industry, and the economic landscape are not right for that.”

Dorchester Brewing chief executive Matt Malloy said brewers need to adapt to consumers’ changing preferences. For him, that meant adding wine, hard cider, and even frozen slushies to the drink menu — he jokes that his establishment is starting to turn into a “slusheteria.”

Consolidation, Malloy added, is to be expected in a mature market such as craft beer. He recently acquired Aeronaut under his newly created Tasty Liquid Alliance umbrella, moving Aeronaut production from Everett to Dorchester’s brewery on Mass. Ave. while keeping the Aeronaut taproom in Somerville going.

The mergers, acquisitions, and closings probably won’t stop anytime soon — particularly among brewers who make most of their sales via liquor stores, where the competition for shelf space grows ever more intense. People in the industry say it’s only a matter of time before the overall number of breweries starts to drop.

“When everyone’s growing, when everything is hunky-dory, people don’t tend to look for those opportunities,” said Adam Romanow, founder and chief executive of Castle Island Brewing. “In a soft market like this, more people look at that as an exit strategy or a succession plan.”

At Jack’s Abby in Framingham, Sam Hendler remains hopeful. The acquisition of Wormtown catapulted the family business, now known as Hendler Family Brewing Co., into the country’s top 30 largest craft brewers by volume. The styles of beers are complementary: Jack’s Abby specializes in lagers, while Wormtown is known for its IPAs. The Worcester brewery closed and the production work moved to Framingham. But Hendler hired most of Wormtown’s employees and is keeping Wormtown’s taproom in Foxborough and expanding the one in Worcester.

Hendler said many brewers built larger operations than they needed with the anticipation that double-digit sales growth would continue well into the future. Now the industry has far more production capacity than it needs.

“We are investing very heavily in craft beer and believe in its long-term future. This isn’t a ‘sky falling’ scenario,” Hendler said. “There might be a challenging period that we’re going to have to navigate through but we see a really bright future for those who figure out how to navigate that successfully.”