If all beer was the same price, do you think craft beer would outsell macros?

Exactly, you don't look at people eating Mcdonald's and say "Hey why are you eating that crappy cheeseburger? You could have gone to Ruths Chris's and got a porterhouse."

Also, money is a real concern. All of us spend a lotttt of money on beer (at least I'd think so) many people drink beer for the alcohol, not the taste, if that is the case, why spend $2+ a bottle when you can spent $.50?

 

I think non-craft drinkers will never get it. They drink BMC or some other macro beer because to them, beer is just beer. For us, beer is something bigger than that.

 

I had an older gentlemen come into my work the other day. After staring at the beer wall (with tons of craft microbrew options) for about 10 mins. He turned to me and said, "Wheres the Spaten? Ive been drinking it for 30 years and its all I want!" 30 years? Same beer??!?! No thanks...I tried to recommend him something but he scoffed and walked out. I just laughed. More for us I suppose

 

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Again, why brand loyalty is considered anathema to U.S. "craft" beer, I don't know. If I were to open a brewery, I'd be pretty damned happy to have such loyal, repeat customers.

 

Most non craft drinkers don't necessarily drink beer for how it tastes, so they're not going to have any motivation to spend more money to buy craft.

 

Dont get me wrong, Im all for loyalty and what not. Just saying there are so many options out there for one to choose from, why limit yourself? Variety is the spice of life

 

I bartend and it is amazing the different things I hear from the BMC faithful, "(insert miller, bud or coors light) I don't drink that crap, (insert miller, bud or coors light) is far superior and all I drink." that is one that will never get old.

Though I do run little experiments from time to time for my own enjoyment, like not replacing a blown keg of coors and pouring bud light in its place all night and not have a single complaint or vice versa.

 

An entire life time for some

 

A lot of BAs got their start in craft through BMC, including myself, but a lot of BMC drinkers have been so for life. My Dad tells me that I "complicate" beer drinking, that it should be simpler, so maybe that's why it turns people away from craft.

My Dad is kind of a drip, by the way.

 

Well, I'm all for variety, but how long can U.S. craft brewers with little to no brand loyalty hold out (and continue to provide such variety) if people try their beers once and then quickly move on to the next latest, greatest thing?

 

Until they and Sierra Nevada/Stone/DFH/ et al finish negotiations on the collective bargaining agreement.

 

I find customers who are not craft beer drinkers see craft beer with a bit of curiosity and then move on. It isn't a product they purchase, and there isn't much of a reason to change.

Not sure why there would be a reason to "convert" them, but I bring bottles of the good stuff and share with friends and family. You would be amazed at how receptive someone is to trying craft beer when its free . And once they get a taste of the good stuff, watch out.

 

I had a friend who bought 8 cases of some expired beer by prism brewing on clearance for 7 bucks a case. He couldn't believe the bargain he got and always state "It still tastes good to me!" You are going to convince him to spend $50+ on 1 case? I think not.

 

macro drinkers think the same thing about craft as anyone who goes right for their brand despite there being several other brands (of cereal, cigarettes, shampoo, etc etc etc) they haven't tried.

 

I think people approach beer differently depending on whether or not they are interested in beer, or simply interested in drinking beer. Someone interested in drinking beer might view beer in more functionalist terms, and be driven more by familiarity and or price (familiarity narrows it down to a managable number of options, price might help seal the deal so to speak), more so than curiosity. They may hold additional preferences or values as it concerns beer which helps them make sense of the category and narrow down the search for what beer to buy. Maybe they buy domestic, or import, or light beer. That narrows it down and anything which is outside of those parameters can be ignored making for an easier decision. Point of sale materials or the placement of the product might simplify this search by putting the familiar products front and center and in clear view for the consumer. That way the consumer doesn't have to actively search out the familiar products or analyze the entire selection to find those products.

As others have pointed out people tend to care about only a limited number of product categories (if any), maybe just one or two, whilst treating the rest with a functionalist mindset (or ignore them entirely). For us the product category happens to be beer and so we look at the category in a different way compared to those who have only a functionalist interest in beer or no interest what so ever. Once in a while when I'm choosing what product to buy from a particular category that I don't have the same level of interest in, I lift my gaze so to speak only to realize what a huge selection of different options and alternatives that are available and which I'm largely unaware of. My search is narrow in its scope by default and I'm on the lookout for those familiar packages of familiar brands which I am used to buying.

The most pertinent example that I can think of off the top of my head is coffee. I always buy the standard roast from one of the big name brands at the store and I already know what I'm getting when I head for the coffee shelf, and when I arrive I immediately recognize the familiar packages of the two brands which I'm used to drinking and which my family is used to drinking. Everything else, even other products from the same brands, are ignored. Meanwhile there's an entire shelf filled with different coffee brands and products infront of me, yet only a fraction of it is registered by me as I'm standing there. But as I mentioned once in a while I take a step back and take in the multitude of choices and alternatives that are infront of me and the question that comes to my mind is "who is supposed to make use of all of this variety". It seems pointless to me, much of the shelf space appears to be little more than decoration around the one or two products I'm buying.

Yet when I'm standing infront of the beer shelves in the monopoly, it's a completely different story, there I'm scanning every bottle and can and making note of those that I have had and those that I haven't had, looking at the prices and trying to decide what to get out of this multitude of choices.

I think the single-mindedness that I experience standing infront of the coffee shelf is similar to how a person with a limited interest in beer experiences the beer aisle.

 

My favorite part about this quote is that everyone thinks its funny because its just BMC, you would get absolutely crucified if you switched any "whale" IPA and another one that was super easy to find and most craft drinkers wouldnt even notice.

 

They just want the buzz. Taste is irrelevant, so they don't understand why other people would pay more for beer that produces the same results (in their eyes). I drank crappy beer for a long time. It was just about the most bang for the buck. I spent $15 on a 120 min DFH the other day (which I still think was too much, but I never see it out here), which I would have thought was crazy when I was younger.

At least there are much more options now and hopefully people will expand there selections. There wasn't much of a selection when I was younger.

 

I think there will always be a core of people who only drink craft, outnumbered by the hoard that only drinks BMC. Then there's some hybrids who dabble in craft once in a while but usually consume BMC. Something that hasn't been mentioned is there's also some effort involved in enjoying craft beer. I don't think most of us zombie-walk over to a pallet and snag a case like you can with BMC products. We put some time and effort into our selections, make friends with store folks, develop our palates, discover what we like for taste characteristics, spend countless hours on a beer website, trade brews, etc. No doubt it's fun, but it does take a little work. I don't think the average BMC aficionado is willing to make that effort. Shuffle into the store in "must have Bud Light" mode, grab their cases, walk out - no thinking involved. So many choices in craft too - as much as I like poking around vast displays of craft, I'll get brain freeze and just seek a easy alternative like a 'Gansett or Sam Adams. It's almost like you need a guide these days to even get started figuring out what's what and all.

Interesting the comments about loyalty - I think that might become a pretty big factor in the business. Options and variety are nice, but I think it can be too much. "They" buy case after case - we'e buying a bottle or three, a case once in a while, and there is the undeniable tendency to jump from one thing to the next. Repeat sales is one of our key metrics when we launch a new product and then go through and "thin the herd" of products we offer. Said it before - too many choices, not enough consistent volume sales - it has to become unstable at some point.

 

From my experience, the people that gravitate to the Bud, Millers, Coors, etc. are drinking to get drunk most of the time. They don't normally stop at 1 or 2 beers, and they can still drink a 12-pack and spend under $10 to do so. They are very brand loyal, too, Bud drinkers tend to stay Bud drinkers and the same goes for the other massies. I drank the shittiest beer in college because I wanted to get a good buzz on and spend the least amount of money. I now spend a hell of a lot more money to drink the very best beer (well, not since moving to Utah) and have developed a nicely discerning pallet.