CRAFT BEERS CONTINUE THEIR STRONG PERFORMANCE, EVEN IN THE FACE OF AN OVERALL SLOWING BEER MARKET.
BY LEW BRYSON I
f you've been following craft beer for over 20 years, you'll know that this isn't the first time the category has performed strongly. The late 1980s and early 1990s saw overall growth rates in the region of 30%. That was on a tiny base, of course, and was aided by constant expansion into new territories as new brew- eries popped up in previously empty spots on the map. What's going on today is completely different. This is now a big business — craft brewers currently provide an estimated 103,585 jobs in the U.S., including serving staff in brewpubs — that represented 5.7% of the 200 million barrels of beer sold in the U.S. in 2011. More to the point, craft beer dollar sales were 9.1% of a $96 billion market. That's growth of 13% by vol- ume/15% by dollar sales over 2010, when, in turn, the growth was 12% by volume, 15% by dollars over 2009. What's truly surprising is the backdrop to that. Overall U.S. beer sales — by volume — were down an estimated 1.3% in 2011, and 1.2% in 2010 (all figures from the Brewers Association). And you don't need anyone to tell you what the general economy's been like for the past four years. Yet craft beer is racking up amaz- ing growth numbers. What's going on?
20 • Beverage Dynamics • www.beveragedynamics.com • July/August 2012
The Boston Beer Company, and its Samuel Adams brand, is the graddaddy of the craft brewing movement in the U.S. Three of its latest releases include Norse Legend, Stony Brook Red and Verloren.
