Craft and imports grow, macro declines

"McGreevy also noted that beer sales at off-premise retail outlets continued to grow while traditional on-premise operators lost sales to brewpubs and taprooms, where volume sales increased an astounding 60 percent."


If I'm reading this right brewpub/taproom sales grew 60%.

Anecdotally, I've visited 6 local breweries in the last month, and most of them had lines out the door to enter.

And this is New England in the dead of winter. It's not warm outside, so standing out there for 20 minutes sucks.

 

Aren't most of those imports macros?

 

According to the below quote they are:

"Beer Institute CEO Jim McGreevy said sales of imported beer, particularly brands from Mexico, propelled the category to a positive performance in 2016."

I am continually dumbfounded why AAL beer drinkers are willing to pay high prices for Mexican brewed AAL beers.

Maybe this just demonstrates the effectiveness of advertising?

Cheers!

 

“…brewpubs and taprooms, where volume sales increased an astounding 60 percent.”

One more indication that the drink local movement is the fastest growing portion of the craft beer market segment. This is not good news for the larger distributing craft breweries (e.g., Sierra Nevada, Stone, Boston Beer Company (Sam Adams),…)

Cheers!

@RobH @KOP_Beer_OUtlet

 

If they didn't, there are an awful lot of companies wasting an awful lot of money!

 

The brewpub/taproom growth jives with what's happening in Texas. Our laws got changed recently to make it easier for smaller brewers to open taprooms, and it's turning a few of them in to the place to be. Jester King does good business on their slow days, and visiting 8th Wonder in Houston a couple weeks ago was an eye-opener. I'd live at 8th Wonder's taproom if they let me.

My big takeaway left me asking: Why go to a bar when you can go to the source?

 

I'd suggest it means some of the things we're already seeing.

Partnering, purchasing or selling some ownership in order to increase the size of distribution footprint, the diversity of product lines and/or the range of expertise and skills within the company.

Examples:

Lagunitas--Heineken
Victory--Southern Tier
Stone--Hotel, Richmond, and Berlin ventures
Boston Brewing--Teas and Ciders
Dogfish Head--Venture Capital firm specializing in promoting growth and consistency in branding
Duvel Mortgat--Ommegang, Boulevard, Firestone Walker and focusing on a particular market segment
Sierra Nevada--Beer Camps, Oktoberfest collaborative brewing
ABInBev--Goose Island, 10 Barrel, etc., SAB/Miller
Brewdog--Cleveland, Pubs

Etc.

 

Especially if you value beer freshness and a sociable atmosphere over prepackaged beer and multiple TVs that make talking loudly a necessity and facilitate being alone and isolated from others around you.

 

I LOVE Sierra Nevada, but unfortunately, if there's a local brewery that's offering similar styles INCREDIBLY fresh, there's no real reason for me to buy a regional/national breweries offering.

Especially if it's an inviting atmosphere such as a tap room. Not only is it "something to do", but the beer is fresh.

Good to know it's not just this popular in my area (something I assumed from the 60% number). To be honest, it is becoming a bit annoying where I live though. It's become a game of "which place has a shorter line".

The other night I hadn't visited this local brewery in awhile, and it was about 9 pm, and there was a 20 - 30 person line out the door...and it wasn't moving. This isn't a small space either. And it was one of the colder nights in the past few weeks.

One thing that I'm curious about...as far as I know, many of these small local breweries do not release their financial data...so where is this 60% number coming from?

 

Estimates are made from excise tax data, and IRI data. The BA also gets data volunteered by member breweries.

 

I know you're not equating the two, but the differences in these examples are so drastically different that I fear it's open to too much misinterpretation on a website where people continuously mention Boston Beer as an example of a macro brand.

 

Understood, but since it was mentioned in the post I was responding to.... Also I did throw in a bunch of macro brands on purpose, so...

(Just between you, me and the fence post, I have a feeling those people you refer to would misinterpret anything that doesn't fit with their preconceived beliefs. :-))

 

It's definitely a regional thing. When I was in Tucson there were few things as refreshing as an ice cold Tecate or Carta Blanca on a 109° afternoon. A few of those while grilling some carne asada....it's like a A+ beer in the time/place. I'd say (anecdotally) that Tecate or Modelo were the #1 & 2 beers in the area. The beers were usually really fresh too because of the turnover rate (yes, freshness matters in shitty lagers too believe it or not).


If you're talking about Corona though, yeah I think it's a subpar product worth nowhere near it's asking price. I wouldn't buy it if it were cheaper than the other Mexican beers, let alone pay extra. Absolutely an image/marketing thing.

 

Are you strictly talking about on-premise consumption? If so, how can you be sure about the freshness of what is being served to you at either establishment (bar vs. taproom)? If you're also talking about dated packaged product for off-premise, then there are lots of reasons for me. Perhaps the Sierra beer tastes better to me even with the age... price is better... I can buy it while food shopping down the street as opposed to waiting on an hour line on a Saturday morning in a different town... consistency from bottle to bottle... I can enjoy it at home... I can buy it by the bottle or by the case... quality bottling and canning line... as you put it: "it is becoming a bit annoying where I live though. It's become a game of which place has a shorter line"... etc.

 

I'm strictly speaking about a brewery's tap room. And there's no way to exactly know how fresh the beer is, but in most cases I assume it's quite fresh. As I can buy (and have bought beers) from a brewery that are dated very fresh, and they have releases on their calendar. It's not like there's a beer at their taproom from three months ago. They're all beers recently released.

I'm talking more towards taprooms vs. off-premise. But in some cases, I may choose local over Sierra Nevada. In reality, I purchase from multiple sources (bars, taprooms, regional/national brands at stores, imports from stores...etc.). To break this down a bit further...

1) Assuming my local brewery consistently produces a high quality version of a specific style...I'll choose local over Sierra Nevada.

2) The majority of the time I have not encountered terrible lines. But this is changing recently. So...stay tuned.

3) I can buy beer by the can (not many bottles anymore) or case from the brewery if I want.

4) I almost never consider price as a factor, unless it's absurd, so we'll definitely differ in opinions on this subject.

You make excellent points though.

 

Even if you like the Sierra Nevada beer better? Will you make the same decision regarding imports vs local once it's Oktoberfest season?

 

Ah, I knew I forgot a word in there. I meant to also say EQUIVALENT quality. If the Sierra Nevada beer is flat out better, I'll buy that. Or even if it is equivalent, I may purchase an old favorite.

For example, I always buy Summerfest, Celebration, Bigfoot, and their fall pack (simply for their Vienna Lager, there isn't one that's better in my opinion that I can purchase, I like Tumbler too).

And during Oktoberfest season the majority of my purchases are definitely imports. Although as more of these breweries gain more experience, I'm buying more and more domestic versions. (Re-reading this, I somehow said "more" four times in that sentence)