Where is the beer market headed?!
With the obvious rise of micro-breweries and conglomerate breweries offering smaller scale beers and a wider selection, where is the industry headed?
Answers: The U.S. may be the youngest country in terms of beer brewing longevity...
With the obvious rise of micro-breweries and conglomerate breweries offering smaller scale beers and a wider selection, where is the industry headed?
First off, I ust address "themurph2000"... Sam Adams is in NO WAY a Miller brand. Sam Adams beers are brewed by The Boston Beer Company, a publicly traded company on the New York Stock Exchange.
And speaking of Goose Island, THEY are partially owned by Anheuser-Busch, following s "distribution deal" set forth nearly two years ago.
Now, to answer your question, there has never been a more exciting, and nerve-wracking time like the present for the Beer Industry in the US. We undoubtedly have the most progressive brewing culture in the world, as stated by my ever-knowledgable colleague AleSmith. In fact, brewers from other countries, such as Germany and Belgium, are now starting to look to us in the States as to what the newest innovations in brewing are!
Craft beer is stronger than ever before. There are numerous reasons for this, and Answers does not have the space for my to print half of them. I will say that Microbreweries, Brewpubs, and Regional Craft Brewers are all enjoying wonderful growth thanks in part to an American society that is finally waking up to better quality beers with more flavor, etc.
The big brewers are noticing this. Large brewers are trying to dumb down the industry by releasing sub-par "craft-style" beers (hello, A-B), while others are dismissing the craft beer resurgence as nothing but a "fad" that will "disappear in time" (hello, SABMiller Chairman).
Global brewing conglomerates will continue to buy out more breweries in order to make a profit, as boring beers are all losing volume (Miller, Bud, Heineken, etc.) while craft beers continue to grow at double-digit rates month after month, year after year!
Here's what you'll see in 2008:
1) Higher beer prices as a result of rising commodity prices (hops, barley, etc.)
2) AB, Heineken, InBev, and SABMiller will continue to buy more breweries, resulting in the loss of many brands, and the loss of quality of many others.
3) The Craft Beer Industry in the US will again grow by an even larger pace than previous years, and more regional brands will become available in even more markets.
4) Extreme Beers will get even more extreme.
5) Barrel-Aged Beers will be THE beers of '08
6) Giants like AB will continue to try to chip away at the craft market by releasing a slew of faux-craft beers with cute names and poor quality.
7) More drinkers than ever before will shun the beers of the Brewing Giants for liquid of a higher quality; they will demand feshness, local ingredients, more flavor, and all around better quality!
8) Corona will LOSE market share for the first time in 15 years as a result of conversion to better beers (my own prediction)
Cheers!
Down my throat
I think popular name brand beers are going to offer their own "specialty beers" to compete in the micro-brew market. Different varieties of the same beer, like Bud Select, etc.
I think it's returning to normality. You have to remember that while the United States may be young it actually had a pretty respectable brewing industry before Prohibition, the Great Depression, World War II, and several other factors f*cked it up. The same people that were brewing fantastic beers in other countries simply set up shop here. I think it's pretty clear that the big guys are getting a tad bit nervous if you take a look at their recent advertisements.
While I love and respect international beer I'd argue that America is easily the most progressive place for beer at the moment. After years of being scoffed at many of our brands are finally getting the respect they deserve and foreign breweries like Mikeller are even adopting American brewing practices.
Beer is getting better and that's good news for everybody.
Seems like variety is the buzzword these days. Miller Lite is about to match Michelob by putting out specialty beers (Blonde Ale, Amber, and Wheat). Anheuser-Busch is countering with their own version of Miller Chill, which seems to have caught on in many places. Of course, we've heard of Sam Adams (a Miller company) and their 24 varieties of brew.
I think the other thing you'll see is better distribution on the part of the larger micro-breweries, trying to capitalize on shipping companies' new ideas for transit. I'm in Charlotte, and I'd give anything to get Chicago's Goose Island beers down here.