All alcohol (beer, wine, liquor) in my state must be purchased from a liquor store. Only 3.2% beer is sold anywhere else. This reduces the exposure of craft beers to the general public.

I hope the selection continues to increase around here. I hope the increasing trend is a national trend.

At my beverage center, the entire center of the store is stacked with piles and piles of 12 packs, 15 packs, 24 packs, 30 packs (maybe more) of domestic American megabrewed beer. I don’t think they sell it in less than 12 packs. But, they also have a section of piles of 12 packs and cases of “better” beer, namely your highly popular better beer like Sam Adams, Saranac, Guinness, Bass, Stella Artois, etc. Then, they also have an entire wall shelved with 6 packs of many varieties of craft beer, both domestic and imported. This beverage center has never adjusted the allocation of space that I have noticed.

The real story is at the grocery store where space is limited. I have noticed that they seem to be carrying more and more craft beer, especially some regional ones. In the refrigerator section, however, the percentage of space has remained the same, they just seem to cram more varieties of craft beer in the same space. But, (and this is very cool) in order to accommodate even more craft beer, they have started placing end-caps all over the store with all sorts of craft beer, mostly regional. So, the percentage of “shelf space” at the grocery store has definitely been expanded for craft beer, though it is mostly regional and popular varieties.