2023 will be a tough year for craft breweries?

I confirmed last Summer with a contact I know at the distributor, not sure if the policy changed pre/post Government Lockdowns, but was under the same impression (110 days) until last year when I picked up really fresh beers (IIRC $5.99 or $7.99 for refrigerated 12 pack bottles under 30 days old), as 110 days would have been an impossibility.

My refrigerator is packed with other beers, but I have a underground basement cellar (dark, 50-55F), and will transfer 4-6 at a time to the refrigerator as room becomes available.

I can only speak for the Chicago area Budweiser distributor, but outside of a few exceptions, I've always seen their non AB beers also managed well in terms of freshness and promotions. Water and other NA products are their second largest volume at this point after AB products here. Founders their lone major non AB beer in their portfolio in terms of volume, and Guinness in the few areas cities/counties they have the contract.

The mindset of AB and their distributors the past few years told to me are there are far to many beers and skus out there, and they are happy to unload both. Seen evidence lately of the breweries which returned to independent status the past few months, and also their Ohio brewery they folded beyond 3 beers, though I believe part of the purchase incentive was their self-distribution business.

I always hoped GI could do the same, but I'd say they are one of the few AB may want to keep, at least as of now.

 

Craft beer can seem expensive until you compare it to other alcohol formats on a per serving basis: beer at $3.50 per 16oz = $3.50/ serving. Decent wine at $28/ 750 ml = $5.60 per serving. Bourbon at $28/. 750 ml at 2oz per pour ~ $2.24…. oh wait, I guess I should be drinking bourbon, but not wine. Plus, fewer carbs in bourbon than beer, I think.

 

I'm not sure if I have been buying more economically priced beers so much as I have NOT been buying high priced IPA 4-packs nearly as often.

Price is part of it, but frankly, I've just grown tired of the style. I've found that so many of the $20+ 4-packs are just fancy cans containing mediocre beer with tweaks that only slightly differentiate one mediocre IPA from the previous month's mediocre IPA.

I can get Treehouse and/or Alchemist 4-5 times per year at a price which (including travel fees) beats some of the high priced IPAs on my shelf. That's good enough for me, so I stay with other styles (which turn out to be cheaper) for the remainder of the year.