BY JULIE JOHNSON
ighty years ago this past spring, President Roosevelt
signed the Cullen-Harrison Act into law, the first
step in rolling back the 13-year disaster known as
National Prohibition. The Act legalized the sale of beer
with an alcohol content by weight of 3.2%. Restoring
beer to American drinkers was overwhelmingly popular,
and underscored beer's place as the beverage for the
American Everyman.
The past several years have subjected Everyman to
some painful shocks, denting the spending power of the
beer market's most loyal demographic groups. At the
same time, the consumer's preferences seem to be shifting to more flavorful beverages, such as craft and import
E
JULIE JOHNSON is co-owner and contributing editor at
All About Beer Magazine.
beers that can be justified as an "affordable luxury" in
tight times.
With the economy seemingly in recovery, it's hard
to say whether the changes in consumer behavior
brought on by tough times will be permanent. But the
entire beer industry is behaving as if they will.
Sales Trends
otal U.S. beer consumption in 2012 was virtually
unchanged from the year before (Figures from The
Beverage Information Group).
Mainstream categories—whether super-premium,
premium, light, popular or malt liquor—lost volume
across the board, with the super-premium and premium
category and malt liquor falling by 3.1 and 3.0%, respectively. By contrast, imports grew by 1.5%, flavored malt
beverages by 7.8%, and the craft beer sector by 14.6%.
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30 • Beverage Dynamics • www.beveragedynamics.com • September/October 2013