This is interesting...craft "taking over"?

No doubt. Otherwise, them in that age group would be drinking Bud instead of Bud Light. It's a VERY convincing jingle, is it not?

 

When I read your post I actually 'heard' the song. It made me thirsty for a beer: one of my homebrewed beers!

Beer time! I think I will drink one of my homebrewed Kellerbiers!

Cheers!

 

And it's probably delicious. Enjoy!

 

Cheers!

 

Budweiser is quickly becoming a brand without a real audience. If you want beer and don't care about the flavor, there's cheaper, less calorie laden options like bud light and the keystones of the world. If you want more flavor, you might as well go one step further and get something "crafty" or even one of the Sam Adams, Lagunitas, Sierra Nevadas of the world. I'm in the younger demographic and I've tried budweiser, but of BMC, the vast majority of what I drank when I was younger was the lightest stuff or Blue Moon type stuff.

 

Budweiser should consider changing their recipe and becoming all malted barley instead of using the rice adjunct. They make a very clean beer devoid of imperfections and impurities, but adjuncts generally water down the flavor profile.

I would actually give an all malted barley Budweiser a try. As great as the american craft scene is, there is still a dearth of quality lager options (though this is improving).

Though I don't know if that would improve its prospects. Some part of the end away from Budweiser is a rejection of large corporations.

 

Bud can't win on taste. Even the "yeah, but I really like the taste of Bud" crowd still can't pick it out of a blind taste test. Where Bud can win and where they have won and continue to win, is making it seem like you're buying something more than a beer when you purchase a Bud. If they make it seem like you're buying a piece of America, or that you're continuing a tradition of a deceased family member, of your taking a stand against a more progressive social culture, then you'll buy their product. They've got to win on values with their core drinkers and, they probably will. The Super Bowl commercial was an example of this. Don't buy Bud because it tastes good, buy Bud because you want to stand in opposition to people who stick their nose into a beer glass and take a whiff.

Craft tries to work that angle to. Don't buy this because it tastes good, buy it because you're independent. Buy it because you want to stick it to the big guy. Buy it because you want to stick it to the big company. Buy it because you're "different."

So both segments are working the, "we're more than just a beer angle." Craft can't win that battle, at least not now, because the values Bud is pushing for (be like your grandfather, say the pledge of allegiance, objectify women) are much more woven into the fabric of our society than the ones craft pushes (stick it to the man, support your local folks type stuff). On taste though, crafts got them by a mile. We all know that, but even the crappy craft is better. Bitburger is cheap and not owned by Bud. It blows it out of the water, in my opinion.

 

well said.

 

Taste buds unite!

 

The rest of the US needs to follow Portland OR's lead to make that statement truly viable cuz I think they actually did that there? From what I've read.

 

Ehhh...there's a huge causation/correlation error in this article:

Booze executives are "lamenting about the heightened level of promotional intensity in the marketplace" as craft beers take over, according to a recent report by RBC Capital Markets.

The beers you're most likely to see on sale are American classics like Bud Light, Budweiser, and Shock Top, according to the report.

The article claims that the cheap beers going on sale is because of a decline in sales of these brands. I won't say that efforts to boost these brands aren't tangentially related, but ignores the economic reality. Craft beer customers tend to be less price sensitive (I know I am) and they (I) don't care if my craft six pack is $10.99 or $11.99 as much as the more price sensitive buyers of cheap beer care if their beer is $16.99/case or $17.99 a case. Price elasticity of luxury versus commodity goods is economics 101.

What this means is that large retailers (who have any amount of pricing sense) realize that they are unlikely to do anything but give away margin by putting craft beer on sale and are unlikely to drive traffic by putting most craft packages in ads. There's a secondary reality here too, if you're going to put something on sale and hope to get a 10% boost, even if you put the entire craft segment on sale, you're getting the boost to 10% of the market. If you put the other 90% of the market on sale, you're looking at a much bigger dollar impact.

 

In beer advertising, you got it! But in Sports Illustrated? That will never go out of style, even when the Bikinis are painted on.

 

Shock Top is a classic?

 

I never thought about that stupid Super Bowl '15 Bud ad in that sense before, but I guess you're right. I just know I'm outside of Bud's core audience as someone preferring craft beer, and I only drink it as a last resort obviously.

And funny you mentioned Bitburger, since lol I never can keep up with all the various breweries that AB/Inbev bought out. Might look up Wikipedia later, to see all the ones AB/Inbev owns. But hey as long as the breweries they bought out still taste good and they don't ef up their recipe on making the beer(i.e. Goose Island's Bourbon County Stout, and sister BCS beers), I'll be fine. I just hate bland beers(not always light beer, but often the case), more than anything. My few experiences with BMC light beers, reinforced my negative opinion on such beers.

 

All the big guys have is their lower price for lots of bottles/cans. They don't have taste (though I don't mind a nice clean AAL) or what I prefer most, locally made beer. There will always be a market for people that want a 30 rack for $13.99. Nothing good or bad in that case. For people that want to enjoy more nuanced beers hopefully craft continues making inroads.

 

Playing both sides is a losing strategy. The big boys buy up brands, promising the moon, and they have no idea how to market the brands. Individual (BMC) wholesalers refuse to carry all the skus to truly represent these brands. I've seen this over and over. The big wholesalers think that selling one pallet fast is no big deal. A small wholesaler gets this one pallet out fast, builds the brand, carries all of the skus, and the really good bottle shops, bars, and restaurants keep the ball rolling. The beer is paid for before the bill is due! The big guys have 0 sense of urgency and float on the comfort of commodity sales. This is a story that keeps repeating and actually ends up killing some very good brands.

 

I would much rather they go back to or at least do a special release of the real original recipe, which did have adjuncts. I'm sure it would cost more to produce so it would really have to be the latter. Problem is, they claim it's the same recipe throughout the years but we all know that's a load of horse hockey.

 

The beers you're most likely to see on sale are American classics like Bud Light, Budweiser, and Shock Top, according to the report.

Since when is Shock Top considered "an American classic"?

 

20% market share and up is around the corner, boys and girls, and we have plenty of young people that will be start drinking craft beer when they turn 21 in addition to the older converts since the brewpubs, craft bars, and small breweries are popping up virtually everywhere, and serve as social centers that cater to people of all ages, occupations, etc... The writing is on the wall for big beer, and they know it! That's why they keep buying craft breweries as opportunity allows.

 

Yeah. I'm sure most of us have seen the decline in IBU, especially, of Bud posted by Jesskidden before. If not, do a search, new guys.