Craft Beer: By the Numbers

wow can things be misleading...

 

As taxation for breweries is based upon number of barrels of beer made it probably isn't that hard to get.

 

Nearly one dollar in every five spent on beer in America is going to craft?

I'd say that calls for a toast.

 

Not mentioned in the Brewers Association press release, but it should be noted that about half of the increase in "craft beer" production is not actual growth, but the addition of some (as yet unnamed) adjunct brewers under 6m bbl./yr barrelage to the "craft" designation.

It's estimated that about 3.5 million barrels of new craft beer (out of the 6.6m bbl increase) was added in that manner due to the new "craft brewer" rules that went into effect this year - primarily nearly 3 million alone from Yuengling, but it's supposed that other formerly non-craft brewers like Straub, Schell and Minhas will also become "craft" when the B.A.'s Top 50 list comes out later this month.

 

Percent growth means nothing unless the definitions remain the same. In 2013, for example, Yuengling (as already mentioned) and August Schell's were not included in the craft statistics. Now (presto-chango) they are. I did not go back and look and the 2013 numbers to see if the BA corrected the past totals to account for this, but if they did not, this "growth" is at least in part due to "acquisition" (so to speak), and not totally due to "same store sales" (to borrow phrases from other sectors reporting on growth).

The BA is a political lobbying organization, and as such should have their numbers looked at a bit skeptically.

Perhaps someone will have the energy/motivation to compare what these recent charts list for 2013 to the actual 2013 report to see if the BA corrected the past data to account for the reclassification of the regional brewers mentioned above.

 

Very interesting info...sheds some light on the stats, which is always needed...

 

IIRC, they report the numbers that they report to their state governments, which what they have to pays taxes on. I'd say these numbers are reasonably accurate.

 

"Craft Retail Value Growth" divided by the percent change for "Craft Beer Barrels Produced" was what I was referring to. However, based on some other comments, this all might be meaningless if Yuengling or any other newly included brewers brought down the average price.

 

The BA may not have mentioned it but I did in this thread:

“I suspect that much of that increase was due to the BA redefining what a craft brewery is (e.g., Yuengling is now considered a craft brewery by the BA definition updates).”

Cheers!

 

good call, that makes sense.

 

OPEN vs. closed is a crazy # to me.

615 opening with just 46 closing.. 2013 numbers show 413 opening and 44 closing. 409 and 43 in 2012. 250 and 37 in 2011.

I guess the numbers don't quite back up what I see as a saturation effect. Who is drinking all this beer? Half the places I drive by are empty. I realize more and more random non craft people are getting into beer for the first time.. I have to believe for many, there is an established loyalty with many customers. I don't need to visit many places more than once or twice to know that I am okay with what I am already used to. Thanks for trying. I hope they find fans somewhere

 

The printed lists in the B.A.'s New Brewer magazine say (variously):

 

Would be great if Brewers Association was more transparent about these figures. Unless I'm reading this wrong, it looks like if we exclude Yuengling and the other breweries newly categorized as Craft (Straub, etc), craft volume may have decreased.

If 22.2 million barrels is the 2014 volume figure, and that represents 18% growth vs prior year, that means 2013 production was roughly 18.8 million barrels. So in 2014 craft production was 3.4 million barrels higher than '13 - but if the newly categorized craft brewers represent roughly 3.5 million barrels... then this starts looking far less impressive.

Am I missing something?

 

I have no real 'data' here but my guess is that a large number of recently opened craft breweries are benefiting from the "drink local" phenomena. For example, a new craft brewery opens up in a smaller town in the 'middle of nowhere'. That beer becomes the beer of choice by the locals from the surrounding area. They frequent the tasting room and bring back growlers for home consumption.

Cheers!

 

There's no question that BA is reaching for the best possible numbers - i.e. by including cider.

But as a political organization, for them, "craft" rightfully means "anything beer-related outside the BMCverse". As such, Yuengling is as meaningful a contributor as any nanobrewery.

 

The Brewers Association purposely excludes cider and flavored malt beverages.

That is also why when their Craft Breweries Top 50 is put out at the end of the month, Boston Beer Co.'s barrelage will be much less that their reported 4.1 million barrels, since it won't include Twisted Tea or the Angry Orchard production.

 

The 2013 number is less than 16 million barrels. the 18% growth apparently IS 'same store' (or at least excludes the breweries newly counted as craft breweries, if not all the new small breweries) . Apparently they recognized that including the increase due to Yuengling et al would be misleading, and so corrected for it.

 

More on this topic can be found in a post on the B.A.'s website - Craft Brewing Growth by the Numbers