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.
Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/705687
Non-Beer Brews www.beveragedynamics.com Digital Edition Exclusive 2016• Beverage Dynamics 4 It took Boston Beer, the pioneer craft beer brewer whose suc- cess sometimes stretches the bonds of loyalty among beer aficio- nados, to deliver the breakthrough cider. Angry Orchard was an overnight sensation—but was twenty years in the making. In 2015, it owned half the hard cider market. The cider combines an approachable palate with edgy marketing. "The new ciders, they're a little bit sweeter. Especially in that category, you find the American palate tends to go towards sweet a lot of the time," Ciskey says. "But the packaging, they've got the kind of angry-looking trees, which are very eye catching." Bardill likens the packaging to a craft beer brand. "It looks like something crazy from California or Vermont. It played to that trend. Compare that to, say, a Woodchuck: that looks like a retro or import." And, in fact, traditional Woodchuck has lost market at a steeper rate than Angry Orchard's gains. But successes lurk at sales posi- tions four, five and seven: Strongbow (51.8% growth, a traditional brand owned by Heineken), Smith & Forge (16%, MillerCoors) and Stella Artois Cidre (14.9%, A-B InBev), proving that old school approaches still have appeal. At Hazel's Beverage World in Boulder, Colorado, beer man- ager Derek Ridge has not noticed a drop-off; in fact, there's been such a proliferation of brands he's split the cider inventory into two sections. "The regular ciders are in the beer section, and the more expensive ones are in the cooler." The selection in the cooler has more crossover appeal for wine and craft beer drink- ers, he says. NEW KID ON THE BLOCK Alcoholic seltzer water is an emerging class of non-beer in the beer department. A few examples have been on the periphery for a while, but it's no surprise that one of this spring's entries, Truly Spiked and Sparkling, comes from an affiliate of Boston Beer (see Twisted Tea, Coney Island and Angry Orchard). Ridge says the brand isn't trending yet, but he has tasted it. "I have to say, it was pretty good," he opines. These are not malt beverages, being based on fermented cane sugar, so they claim to be gluten-free. Several brands capitalize on the interest in natural ingredients, incorporating pure fruit, which positions them as the healthy, non-FMB alternative. SpikedSeltzer claims to be "all natural, low carb, gluten-free, and contains 6% alcohol"—and it's won a place at Whole Foods. The mermaid logo dispels any doubt that the target audience is female drinkers by the pool, and the same probably applies to Nauti Seltzer. STOCKING CHALLENGES To the retailer, the whole collection of "non-beer beers" poses the challenge to keep up interest and variety. These beverages fill a need, or a number of different needs, for very different consum- ers: guests who don't want beer, yet want a low-alcohol drink; customers who want alcohol's buzz but don't enjoy its taste; or consumers who don't drink alcohol but want a beverage that isn't childish. Apart from cider, none of these beverages excites passion: there will never be a festival devoted to flavored malt beverages. But producers will continue to stoke curiosity by launching new flavors and brands, and retailers will have to carry a reasonable range of these workhorse drinks to keep customers happy. JULIE JOHNSON was for many years the co-owner and ed- itor of All About Beer Magazine. She has been writing about craft beer for over twenty years. She lives in North Carolina, where she was instrumental in the Pop the Cap campaign that modernized the state's beer laws.