The State of American Beer

Thanks for posting that link!

@jesskidden you would be very interested in this article since the author collected and 'processed' IRI data.

Unfortunately IRI only collects bottled (case) beer data so draft sales data is missing.

Cheers!

 

Too bad the craft beer sales volume is by brewery and not a particular brand as with the domestics/imports. That would be interesting.

 

Since craft reflects such a small market share compared to single brands from the big-name brewers, it was probably outside the scope of this study.

If you exclude Yuengling as this study did, I can project that Boston Lager, SNPA, Fat Tire, and Shiner Bock are the largest single craft brands if you take the top selling brand from each of the four biggest craft breweries listed. I'm less sure about the other options.

Here's data from SymphonyIRI's 2012 study on the alcohol industry, if you look at page 25, you'll see the top selling individual craft beer brands for that FY. General craft beer info starts on page 21.

 

He does say that he will have more to say on the Craft industry in the future. This I would like to read, I mean pie charts! How can you beat that?

"Before we delve into the particulars, let's remember the big picture: over the past twenty years, per-capita consumption of beer in the U.S. has been declining." Well good beer is more expensive I'd rather drink 2 Centennials than 6 Bud's.
"Find Your Beech" Now I'm just being pedantic. Beach! Sheesh is there an editor around?

Seriously though. I think that even an uninterested consumer would see these numbers reflected in the purchases that they and their friends make. Sam Adams is to my knowledge the only craft brewery that advertises, and in such a way that catch's the interest. While Lagunitas will give you the best bang for the buck 9 times out of 10. I can believe that their growth would be exponential, especially in the 21-26 age bracket who often don't have the income for a $ 14.99 bomber but still want to be different from their parents. As for the other numbers Light beer is "better for you" and imports, especially Mexican, have found great marketing schemes as pointed out in the "Bad beer Sells" thread that was posted.

P.S. my favorite part of the whole article was in the comments. "The quest is quality, not quantity. I'm pretty sure the Orcs drink Bud Light and like it."

 

Id like to see style breakdown sales wise. IPA would be clear winner and I can imagine a huge portion of Lagunitas' sales growth is in that single category...

 

From TheAtlantic.com:
The State of American Beer
What's rising, what's fading, and what people are really drinking
http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2014/04/the-state-of-american-beer/360583/
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Yes, yet another 'state of the beer industry' article. The beauty of this one, though, is how it breaks the market down into BMC (it actually calls it "Domestic," you know b/c AB-InBev is American and US craft beer isn't), Import, and Craft and includes helpful graphs for each.

The thing that really stuck out is LAGUNITAS. They grew like gangbusters!!! I knew they were growing, but DAMN!!! Good to see big growth out of Stone, too.

Cheers!

 

It's difficult for me to think of Shiner as a craft beer.

 

I wonder if the Sam Adams figures include all their brands....i.e. Angry Orchard (not-a-beer) ciders. I'd read their beers sales have been down yet they still show pretty robust growth due to the cider craze

 

If you're talking about the regular lineup I'd probably agree, but their specialty labels have been pretty good examples of the styles they're matching.

 

Those figures are not true total barrelage amounts for the brands/breweries listed - they are only the IRI data from specific types of off-premise retailers, as noted:

Those figures are a somewhat adequate (aka "best we get for free") way to make comparisons of brands/brewers, but aren't valid for much else. They apparently don't include sales from liquor stores (where beer is sold in many states), retail distributors (like PA) or any on-premise retailers (bars, restaurant, brewpubs, brewery tap rooms, etc).

For one example, take a look at Sierra Nevada's "case" total of 5.8 million. That equals only 421,000 bbl. of beer, yet Sierra Nevada brews and sells nearly a million barrels a year now (2012 - 966k bbl). Or Bud Light's 295 million cases (@ 2.25 gallons each) equals 21.5 million barrels, yet Bud Light sells in the region of 39 million barrels a year.

The guy who made those charts from IRI's data is really misrepresenting them as "complete".

Since they list "Samuel Adams" and not the brewery name "Boston Beer Co." it is unlikely they are counting the cider brands or the FMB Twisted Tea. BBC claims their total barrelage for all their brands was 3.4m barrels last year (up from 2.7m in '12).

Don't know where you've read that BBC beer sales are down - the IRI data for the individual Samuel Adam's labels that make their Top 30/50 craft brand lists were up for 2013 except for SA Light and Cherry Wheat. But the Angry Orchard labels are certainly growing faster than their beers.

 

I was thinking about the regular lineup, especially Shiner Bock. Haven't had any of the specialty beers.

 

I'd agree with you on the Bock -- I picked up a six-pack a while ago to see if my opinion had changed, but it was just too off. But you should look for their specialties because they really work magic on them.

 

If by specialties you mean the Black Lager and Alt, then I am in total agreement with that. The Oktoberfest is none too shabby either (for an American version ).

 

Their Pilsner and Dortmund were pretty good too. Makes you wonder if they have completely different people working on the Bock -- or they just want to stick to the tried-and-true seller.

 

From what I understand, it's a cultural force as well as a beer down in Texas. I wouldn't change a thing either if I were them.

 

not to mention Kona.

 

Do you have any numbers for this statement? I'm just curious if more beer is purchased in liquor stores than say gas stations and grocery stores.

 

I took a tour of Spoetzl brewery a couple of years ago. During the tour the tour guide mentioned the percentage that Shiner Bock sold in the Shiner portfolio; it was a number like 75-80%. There is absolutely no way they are going to make any changes to this beer. Shiner Bock is what their customers want!

I am a HUGE fan of Shiner Bohemian Black Lager; that is a very tasty craft beer! Shiner Oktoberfest is in my list of top 10 Oktoberfest beers; it is very, very solid. I also enjoy drinking their Alt.

Cheers to Spoetzl Brewery!

 

Have not seen this article posted on the site yet:
http://www.beervanabuzz.com/2014/04/anheuser-buschs-latest-counteroffensive.html?m=1

Nearly a 50% price cut on Shock Top and Goose kegs coming. This has got to have more than a few breweries, both big and small, new and established, quite nervous.