Beverage Dynamics is the largest national business magazine devoted exclusively to the needs of off-premise beverage alcohol retailers, from single liquor stores to big box chains, through coverage of the latest trends in wine, beer and spirits.
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Craft Beer 44 Beverage Dynamics • July/August 2015 www.beveragedynamics.com get some of the major craft brands, according to Peco's Mulvihill. So when New Belgium, Lagunitas and Oskar Blues (all among the top 25 largest breweries) opened distribution there within the last two years, it was big news. "When we launched New Belgium, we sold 25 cases of Fat Tire the fi rst night," he says, referring to New Belgium's very popular, but in no way palate-challenging amber ale. "That was a big deal: we had a big display and signs in the windows saying, 'Welcome to Delaware!'" By contrast, comparable fl agship beers like Samuel Adams Boston Lager or Sierra Nevada Pale Ale have been on the Delaware market for years. "Their sales are strong, but I think the new breweries here like New Belgium and Lagunitas, that's where the growth is coming from," Mulvihill says. Novelty trumps size in this case. The hunger for novelty has become a well-accepted as- sumption about younger consumers in particular. Brewers and retailers chase this apparently fi ckle audience with constant innovation. Deschutes' Billingsley calls it "a double-edged sword"—words that brewers and retailers might take to heart. "The looking for new experiences, for what's new, is be- coming a self-fulfi lling prophecy: everybody believes that the consumer wants something different, " he says. "So breweries are creating new and unique beers, and it's accelerating to the point that it's challenging to keep up with, especially when you are at the scale of a regional or national brewery." Maybe the lesson is that the big breweries shouldn't—can't— chase every new trend that comes along, nor should customers or retailers expect that of companies that have to invest six to eighteen months in the launch of a new beer, compared to the rapid turnaround possible for micros. The big brands, instead, provide quality, consistency and measured experimentation. Listening to consumers, it's hard not to liken their love of the small and local—and the rejection of the established and successful—to the music fan who discovers a great band in its indie days, and feels betrayed when its appeal grows beyond a small group of followers. Peco's pushes back strenuously against beer fans who condemn the regional brewers for their success. Boston Beer, the largest craft brewery, comes in for partic- ular criticism from a vocal few for "selling out." "Really?" demands Mulvihill. "They still consistently produce beers that peo- ple want. And when we get our allocation of three bottles of Utopias, those bottles come in and go out in the same day. Con- veniently, when the Utopia is on the table, everyone's a Sam Adams fan." BD JULIE JOHNSON was for many years the co-owner and editor of All About Beer Magazine. She has been writing about craft beer for over twenty years. She lives in North Caroli- na, where she was instru- mental in the Pop the Cap campaign that modernized the state's beer laws. TOP CRAFT BREWING COMPANY SHIPMENTS, 2013-2014P (2.25-Gallon Cases) '13/'14 2014 Company 2013 2014p % Change Share Boston Beer Company 31,620 35,098 11.0% 14.4% Sierra Nevada Brewing Company 13,571 14,711 8.4% 6.0% New Belgium Brewing Company 10,916 13,023 19.3% 5.3% Craft Brew Alliance 10,003 10,913 9.1% 4.5% Lagunitas Brewing Company 5,531 8,285 49.8% 3.4% Spoetzl Brewing Company 7,815 8,253 5.6% 3.4% Deschutes Brewery 3,964 4,642 17.1% 1.9% Bell's Brewery 3,420 4,399 28.6% 1.8% Stone Brewing Company 2,939 3,959 34.7% 1.6% Brooklyn Brewery 2,976 3,473 16.7% 1.4% Total Leading Companies 92,755 106,756 15.1% 43.7% Others 113,861 137,484 20.7% 56.3% Total 206,616 244,240 18.2% 100.0% (p) Preliminary. Source: The Beverage Information Group. www.bevinfogroup.com