Samuel Adams drops to 7.9% of Boston Beer Co.'s volume

Discussion in 'Beer News' started by Todd, Jul 21, 2021.

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  1. AlcahueteJ

    AlcahueteJ Grand Pooh-Bah (3,088) Dec 4, 2004 Massachusetts
    Pooh-Bah Society

    Yup, had a few at a wedding a couple weeks ago, was very good. Fairly hoppy if I recall.

    I wouldn't be surprised if Dogfish Head was in decline as well.

    Anecdotal, but I've been hearing Dogfish's ads on the radio lately for their "ready-to-drink" canned cocktails. So they're also seeking other avenues for additional revenue.

    Sierra Nevada has had to go the route of producing what's more popular as well to stay afloat. The majority of their beers are now IPAs.

    Rough going right now if you're a nationally distributed brewery.

    Also, to be fair, MANY breweries are making seltzers now.

    It would be interesting to see how much of that volume in terms of barrelage is Truly.

    I've read multiple articles detailing a predicted exponential increase in seltzer sales, even outside of the summer season. This seems to be coming to fruition.

    And I recall one article saying White Claw and Truly make up about 75% of the seltzer market. It's conceivable the Sam Adams brand is doing ok and Truly is simply selling at a ridiculous clip.
     
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  2. rgordon

    rgordon Pooh-Bah (2,677) Apr 26, 2012 North Carolina
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    We have a neighborhood smaller Walmart up the street at Guilford College. There are at least 4 full doors of cooler space given to these various brands, plus large floor displays left and right. It's not just young people buying these products. These beverages must be very profitable indeed..
     
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  3. anfield86

    anfield86 Pooh-Bah (2,594) Nov 21, 2006 New Jersey
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    In my opinion they have alienated their customer base quite a bit. They used to be all about brewing a variety of consistent, quality beer styles. Now it seems like they're all about chasing trends instead of setting them. Just a quick look a their website:
    • Wicked Hazy
    • Wicked Easy
    • Wicked Double
    • Just The Haze
    • Boston Lager
    • They go on to list all of their usual seasonals, plus Bavarian Lager and Cherry Wheat
    Personally none of those sound very interesting to me at all (except for maybe Bavarian Lager, which you can't find anywhere). Hazy IPAs are a dime a dozen these days and that tree has been picked clean. I think they should re-focus on brewing quality European-styles like Pale Ales, English Bitters, Bocks, Weizenbiers, Lagers, etc....traditional, nuanced styles which not many of the current "hype breweries" aren't really concentrating on. Maybe make the branding to reflect a more nostalgic or historic look instead of going with the cartoony bullshit. "What's old is new again" and all that.

    But go ahead, BBC, keep chasing that IPA train. You already missed it with Latitude 48 (which to me was the best one), Rebel IPA and "New England IPA". I'm SURE the "Wicked Hazy" thing will work wonders for you guys. Also whoever does their marketing really sucks. Those commercials are cringe AF
     
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  4. proc

    proc Maven (1,254) Dec 11, 2001 Michigan

    The company is solid, so whatever is selling, investors are with them. But to hear that the flagship is only 7.9% of volume is shocking.
     
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  5. ilikebeer03

    ilikebeer03 Pooh-Bah (2,262) Oct 17, 2012 Texas
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    I'm not surprised that Boston Beer Co.'s non-beer brands are outselling the beer brands.

    I AM surprised that the non-beer brands made up 84% of their sales volume. Granted, a small (4 week) sample size, it sounds like. But still...
     
  6. machpost

    machpost Aspirant (286) Jun 11, 2005 District of Columbia

    That share may have just gone up a few tenths of a percent if I'm not the only one who read this thread then went out and bought some Boston Lager for the sake of nostalgia.
     
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  7. bret27

    bret27 Pooh-Bah (2,900) Mar 10, 2009 California
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    Sam Adams has a cool startup story but that was in 1984. They’ve been a large publicly traded company for years. It’s all about profits.
     
  8. CBlack85

    CBlack85 Pooh-Bah (2,298) Jul 12, 2009 South Carolina
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    I think this is indicative of a larger problem for craft beer overall, many of the younger drinkers are turning to alternative beverages such as hard seltzers, ciders, and premixed canned cocktails.
     
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  9. JChalifour

    JChalifour Initiate (131) Dec 31, 2014 Massachusetts

    You, a lot of people on here, and I would love if Sam would “re-focus on brewing quality European-styles like Pale Ales, English Bitters, Bocks, Weizenbiers, Lagers, etc...”. If you gave Jim Koch truth serum, he probably would too. Unfortunately those styles don’t move the needle anymore. That’s why American brewers aren’t making them like they used to. Even American Pale Ale is losing relevance, unless you count hazy pale ales that are really IPAs.

    It’s almost to the point where the only examples of classic styles you can find at retail are imports. If you have a local taproom that makes them, all you can do is buy them to encourage they still provide them.
     
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  10. eldoctorador

    eldoctorador Pooh-Bah (2,096) Dec 12, 2014 Chile
    Pooh-Bah

    Big if true. I haven't had a Boston Lager that I haven't loved. Truly a great beer in my opinion
     
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  11. timobkg

    timobkg Zealot (639) Aug 24, 2006 New Jersey

    On the one hand, it's surprising that so little of their total volume is beer.

    On the other hand, I can't remember the last time I had a Sam Adams. It was probably at an event where SA was the only beer available.

    With so much different beer - and local beer in particular - now available, SA isn't a brand I reach for when I go shopping. I feel totally spoiled with the variety available at the local store. I only wish that the variety applied to different styles of beer, too, rather than just dozens and dozens of different IPAs.
     
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  12. JohnniEMc

    JohnniEMc Pooh-Bah (1,956) Sep 5, 2015 Pennsylvania
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    It's not just hard seltzer, Angry Orchard is among the best-selling hard ciders.
     
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  13. officerbill

    officerbill Pooh-Bah (2,228) Feb 9, 2019 New York
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    Does that mean the Brewer's Association will go back to their original definition of a craft brewery?:wink:
     
  14. jbertsch

    jbertsch Pooh-Bah (2,710) Dec 14, 2008 Massachusetts
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    Every brewery is "about profits."
    Edit: except maybe trappist breweries.

    For SA it's about stockholders.
     
  15. bret27

    bret27 Pooh-Bah (2,900) Mar 10, 2009 California
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    I guess that’s what I mean. Thanks for the correction.
     
  16. woodchipper

    woodchipper Grand Pooh-Bah (3,321) Oct 25, 2005 Connecticut
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    The last paragraph on their home page (see italics below) makes it sound like beer is the focus. Apparently, thats just PR. And BTW, what's with DFH Miami, did they disown Delaware facilities?

    The Boston Beer Company will continue its independently-minded quest to brew great beer and to advocate for the growth of craft beer across America. In addition to Samuel Adams beers and the other craft beers brewed by Angel City Brewery, and Coney Island Brewery, and Dogfish Head Miami, our family of brands include Truly Hard Seltzer, Twisted Tea and Angry Orchard hard cider.
     
  17. moodenba

    moodenba Pooh-Bah (1,833) Feb 2, 2015 New York
    Pooh-Bah Society

    If the 7.3M bbl was produced exclusively at their own breweries, that's possibly twice the capacity if they were brewing only Sam Adams' beers (Lehigh Valley + Cincinnati). I guess they can pump these malternatives out fast. No wonder they are concentrating on them.
     
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  18. AlcahueteJ

    AlcahueteJ Grand Pooh-Bah (3,088) Dec 4, 2004 Massachusetts
    Pooh-Bah Society

    A lot of my local tap rooms make various styles. I think that’s the point though. People like us who like variety are buying local beers, and if Sam Adams does brew something different, we may or may not pick it up. We’re not enough to boost sales of those “other” styles to make it worth it though for a company of their size.

    Sam Adams is largely selling to “not us”. They’re selling to a larger audience, a mainstream craft audience. They probably just buy IPAs and maybe a Sam Adams seasonal like Summer Ale and Octoberfest because they’re brands they know.

    I remember years ago when they debuted Noble Pils as a spring seasonal, it sold incredibly well. They made it a year round beer and sales plummeted, so they removed it.

    Sierra Nevada’s Summerfest had a similar fate this year due to lagging sales the last few years.
     
  19. beaulabauve

    beaulabauve Savant (1,109) Aug 5, 2011 Louisiana

    I agree. Boston Lager is delicious!
     
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  20. JackHorzempa

    JackHorzempa Grand Pooh-Bah (3,181) Dec 15, 2005 Pennsylvania
    Pooh-Bah Society

    Agreed.

    As I posted above:

    "They really should just change the name of the corporation to Boston Beverage Company and for their shareholders I suppose just 'ride the wave' for stuff like hard seltzers, hard teas, hard lemonade, whatever."

    Cheers!
     
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