CHICAGO — When two suburban childhood hockey pals launched Spiteful Brewing in 2012 as a post-collegiate enterprise, the business overcame long odds to grow from a stovetop startup into an award-winning craft brewery and tap room on Chicago's North Side.

But after successfully navigating everything from the pandemic to a flat craft brewing market that has forced several Chicago competitors to close, Spiteful faces an imminent new challenge: tariffs.

President Donald Trump’s 25% tariffs on imported aluminum, set to go into place March 12, will raise the cost to produce every whimsically adorned can of Spiteful beer, from its Working for the Weekend Double IPA to its Fat Badger Ale.

For Spiteful and other Chicago craft brewers, the results may be inevitable: libation inflation.

“Imagine something that you’re buying every day goes up 25% overnight,” said Jason Klein, 42, co-founder of Spiteful Brewing. “We would have no choice but to raise prices — there’s no way we can absorb that.”

A niche segment of the beer industry, craft brewing has become big business in Illinois, with hundreds of mostly small manufacturers generating $3.1 billion in economic impact in the state in 2023, according to the Brewers Association, a Colorado-based trade group. But after years of explosive growth, craft brewers have struggled in the post-pandemic landscape amid a glut of competitors, with a number of high-profile brewery and taproom closings in the Chicago area. Tariffs may be another blow.

Beyond malt, hops, yeast and water, aluminum is a key ingredient in the manufacturing process, used to make the cans for most of the craft beer sold at retail.

The 25% tariffs on imported steel and aluminum, which Trump announced Feb. 10, are projected to significantly affect a number of industries, including automobile manufacturing, construction, electronics and packaging. The U.S. imports roughly half the aluminum used in manufacturing, with Canada by far the largest supplier, according to data published this month by the Council on Foreign Relations.

For the craft beer industry, which depends heavily on aluminum cans from Canada, the 25% increase will hit hard, according to Klein. Spiteful Brewing annually sells nearly a half-million cans of beer, which it distributes to retailers throughout the Chicago area.

The three largest U.S. can manufacturers are Ball Corp., Crown and Ardagh, according to data from IBISWorld. Some craft brewers buy their cans through suppliers, who deal in large volumes and act as middlemen with the manufacturers.

Spiteful buys its cans directly from Ball, a Colorado-based company and the largest U.S. manufacturer. All of the cans delivered to Spiteful are sourced from Canada, Klein said.