As promised, more numbers are now out.
You can read the Brewers Association press release and check out the statistics.
Here’s an obligatory pie chart. (Who doesn’t love charts?)
Stan Hieronymus:
97% of the breweries in the country make just 3.8% of the beer. Meaning 3% of the breweries produce 96% of the beer.
(via Appellation Beer, among others)
According to Information Resource Inc., “Craft” beer dollar sales were up 16.7% in 2007. Yet another double-digit increase.
Craft beer sales were reported up by 14% in the first half of 2007 and up almost 18% in 2006.
More numbers are coming soon.
(via Appellation Beer)
I spotted this on Business Wire. It is, granted, mostly a promotional press release for Samuel Adams, but it does have some interesting information.
Ring in the New Year with Craft Beer
Move over Champagne, Craft Beer is the Drink of Choice for this New Year’s Eve
BOSTON–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Cheers to the New Year with a full-flavored craft beer. A recent survey conducted by GfK Roper Public Affairs and Media found that men prefer craft beer as their drink of choice when the ball drops on New Year’s Eve.[...]
“Beer has been bringing people together for festive occasions long before champagne was even invented,” says Jim Koch, founder and brewer of Samuel Adams. “2007 was a great year for appreciating craft beer, so I’m not surprised that more people will be raising their steins to ring in 2008.”
Wine and chocolates are no longer the chosen gifts for holiday hosts and hostesses. Fifty-nine percent of survey respondents said they’d prefer to be given craft beer as a host/hostess gift. [Me too! -- Ed.] [...]
For people planning to stay in this New Year’s Eve instead of fighting the crowds or the weather, full-flavored craft beer is the preferred beverage to keep warm. When asked what their preferred beverage was when avoiding the winter weather outside, respondents said:
Craft beer 35 percent Spirits 29 percent Wine 14 percent The findings presented are the result of 315 telephone interviews of men ages 21-34, conducted using a national random digit dialing system methodology from December 13 to December 15, 2007 by GfK Roper Public Affairs and Media. The survey was conducted among a representative sample of men 21 to 34 years of age in the continental United States. Survey data were weighted for sample balancing by age and census region. The margin of sampling error for the total sample is plus/minus 6 percentage points at the 95 percent confidence level.
Harumph. I don’t even fit into the demographic for this survey. And, I wonder, are 21- to 34-year-old men buying the majority of booze? Interesting anyway.
October 30, 2007
All of the beer blogs are talking about the price increases recently hitting craft brewers, including Hop-Talk’s own beer blogger Al, and I wanted add my thoughts and a summary of an article I read in the Wall Street Journal, Why Price Increases are Brewing for Craft Beers.
Currently, craft brewers make up only 5% of the beer industry, but it is the fastest growing segment of the beer industry. Like many Americans, I am willing to pay more for a premium product and I am willing to pay the additional 50 cents to $1 more per six pack of beer for craft beer that is hitting the shelves now. I currently pay about $8-$9 for a six pack; I won’t notice the increase, that much.
But just because I’m willing to pay the extra, doesn’t mean everyone is willing. Not just that, my dollar is not completely covering the cost increase, the brewers are eating some the cost lowering their margin and that’s not good, especially in the long run.
The primary causes for this problem are contributed to the increase in cost for hops and barley, the main ingredients in beer. Their price has risen because of poor harvests around the world, the weak U.S. dollar, and farmers shift to more profitable crops. In the previous years there has been a glut of hop farmers, so there has been a recent shift to other crops, such as apples or corn. But that’s not all, glass, cardboard, gasoline and stainless steel are other areas of cost increase.
Big brewers like Anheuser-Busch will also face cost increases but will not be affected as much as craft brewers for a couple of reasons. For one, they use much less ingredients in their beer than a typical craft beer. A typical craft beer will use twice as much barley and 5 times the amount of hops. The second reason is because the big brewers are more likely to secure long term contracts with the producers of the raw ingredients.
An in-between sized brewer, like the Boston Beer Company has been affected and has raised prices 3% in the last year and will likely do so again next year. Boston Beer only buys its hops from Bavaria and the past few years the crops have been smaller making them more expensive, even though they can secure a large contract with the farmers.
Some craft brewers will be substituting the variety of hops in order to control costs. They will try to do so without drastically changing the taste of a successful product. Who knows… maybe it will taste even better? A tricky endeavour, for sure.
Each craft brewer could be affected differently. Some craft brewers obtain their ingredients locally, some secure large contracts, and some buy them on the open market as available. Those that go to the open market may be the most affected. Sadder still, it could put some of the smaller craft brewers out of business. Very sad, indeed.
Another twist on the issue is that products by craft brewers that are “imperial” or have an extra large portion of ingredients, such as Dogfish Head 60 or 90 minute IPA will have a greater cost increase for that particular style as compared to others that they make. It is possible some product lines see a bigger increase in price than others. As an IPA lover and all around hop-head, that is more bad news for me; and, if you read this blog, probably for you, too.
So says SABMiller CEO Graham Mackay in a Fortune Magazine interview.
Oh really? I doubt SABMiller is going to get any of my business.
Tom Cizauskas at Yours for Good Fermentables has some interesting analysis of Mackay’s statement.
Over at the “Brew” Blog, an industry-focused blog sponsored by the Miller Brewing Company, notes that craft beers increased their shelf space at retailers by 16%, according to ACNielsen. They note that this shouldn’t be surprising since craft beer shipments increased nearly 12% in 2006. They also note that imports also increased their shelf space by 6.5%.
The big question now is how much space crafts and imports will gain as retailers reset their shelves this spring — and what brands will lose out.
‘Round these parts supermarkets don’t sell alcohol. My preferred retailer devotes a majority of their space to craft beers and imports. Oh, sure, there’s some megabrews, but it’s not like they’re taking up half of the space. Of course, the convenience store down the road only has mainstream offerings; I think the most exotic thing they have is Killian’s Irish Red.
How about you? Have you noticed more or less craft brews where you buy beers?
Coors leads surge for clean water
Denver brewer donates $30,000 to effort to monitor and heal the Shenandoah River.
An airline named after a beer
One out of every three beers consumed in India is a Kingfisher. Can they run an airline? Apparently so.
Man steals beer from minor league baseball stadium
He got arrested for it in 2002 and received a suspended sentence. I doubt he’ll get such a deal this time.
Cheers for beer makers
Michigan craft brewers’ sales are up, but claim state law is stifling growth.
“Savory” Seasonals
American megabrewers Anheuser Busch and Miller are experimenting with flavored beers for the holidays.
Big dry lifts price of brewing beer
Drought conditions in Australia are making barley more expensive to grow, making malt and, thus, beer, more expensive to make.
Newport poster storm brewing
Sexual innuendo has been part of beer marketing for decades. This is news?
Beer-flavored ice cream is a big hit
Those beer-mad English are gaga over it.
There’s a beer out there
Australians are heading out into the bush in search of good beer at one of the many microbreweries opening up.
John Young dead at 85
Colorful brewer and fixture of British brewing died before the last batch of cask ale was due to be brewed.
Coors Brewing scores perfectly for equality
For the third year in a row, Coors Brewing has received a perfect score on the Human Rights Campaign Foundation’s “Corporate Equality Index”, which evaluates how major U.S. corporations treat their gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender employees, consumers and investors.
New York plant benefiting from synergies
Former Miller Brewing Company plant finds that beer and biodiesel is a good fit.
Carlsberg looks to expanding Serbia beer market
To invest €20 million into its Serbia operations.
New brews launched as drinkers lose taste for strong ale
Sales in the UK of beer with an ABV of 5% and up are down, so brewers are rolling out lower alcohol alternatives.
Suburban beer bandits on the rise
This is only one of several stories throughout the US where young people are breaking into garages and cribbing the beer in extra refrigerators.
Beer being served at 1982 prices
Now would be the time to visit the UK and pop into a pub or three.
Paris Hilton promotes beer at Octoberfest
The billionaire socialite is mobbed by photographers and onlookers in Munich. Is there nowhere to escape her?!
Pittsburgh Brewing reintroduces I.C. Golden Lager
The maker of Iron City beer prepares to enter one of the only segments of the beer market that has shown any signs of growth: craft brews.
New malting system saves water
Dutch brewer Bavaria says it can use up to 30% less water with a new steeping system.
Greene King to lower ABV of Old Speckled Hen to boost sales
“Feedback from our drinkers is that they love the full flavour of Old Speckled Hen, but a significant number find it too strong,” says Managing director Justin Adams.
Crying in our beer
Edmonton Sun editorial on the failures of the privatized alcohol distribution system in Alberta, Canada.
U.S. Sailors seek beer, not girls
Sailors on leave in Perth, Australia have only one thing on their mind and, according to them, it’s not women.
Sleeman agrees to $300 million buyout form Sapporo
Molson Coors, Labatt’s, and Grolsch all said to have been interested. See also: Sapporo acquires Sleeman Breweries
Japanese beer faces woes despite revival
As the Japanese economy continues to recover, domestic beer shipments are rising for the first time in a decade. But changing tastes, healthier lifestyles and Japan’s shrinking population are all posing huge obstacles for an industry that has already undergone painful restructuring.
SABMiller purchases McKenzie River Corp. for $215 million cash
McKenzie is best known for their caffeinated malt beverage, Sparks, and Steel Reserve, a high gravity lager.
Major brewers expected to raise prices
After expensive price war, the big American brewers look to raise prices in spite of losing market share to wine, liquor, imports, and craft beers.
New York first state to create a “beer trail”
Inspired by wineries to promote the approximately 60 breweries and brewpubs in the state.
Sales of craft beer make biggest jump in a decade
U.S. sales up 11% in first six months of 2006 over same period last year.
