Brewers and their distributors need to stop saturating markets, brewers need to date stamp their packaged beers, stores need to get control of their inventory and consumers need to look for dates and buy accordingly.
While Anheuser-Busch’s spree of brewery acquisitions makes headlines, its wholesaler purchases have spawned a war at the distribution level that could be one of craft brewing’s most important fights yet.
When he started brewing, Sun King co-founder Clay Robinson never dreamed he’d be taking days off from bottling to suit up and lobby the Statehouse. But these days, he’s dusting off his bachelor’s degree in rhetoric and fighting to raise the production cap for Indiana’s breweries.
We had the privilege of attending the recent Craft Brewers Conference in Washington DC, and took away three messages from the opening talks, the keynote and discussions with various industry colleagues.
Massachusetts distribution laws reconsidered; Breckenridge Brewery selects Littleton, Colo., AB-InBev modifies Grupo Modelo deal to appease US Department of Justice; Alaskan using spent grain as fuel source; and Pennsylvania governor outlines plans to privatize state’s liquor control board.
Some of the world’s largest brewery companies appear relaxed about their falling sales in established markets because of increasing sales in emerging ones. The trifling fact that even big brands are showing signs of implosion is an inconvenient truth, best left unmentioned. It is just “fluctuations.”
As the country peers ahead toward an all-but-certain future, will the craft beer industry falter? When the storm clears, will craft beer be stronger than ever?
