Beer mega-brands, with the exception of Coors Light, which is up minimally, are taking the hit in this economy that everybody predicted for the beer biz. Information Resources Inc. (IRI) scanner data for April, May and the first two weeks of July shows Heineken down over 15% and Bud down over 11%, while Bud Light, Miller Lite, Corona and Coors are all down 5% or more.
You know who isn’t down? Craft beer, which continues strong and is becoming more and more where retailers turn to try and keep up their profit levels. I just turned in a story to New Brewer magazine last week about how the distribution landscape looks for craft brewers these days and I wish I’d had this info to bolster the already strong argument that it might put them in the best position ever even though the two big consolidations have limited the options overall.
A certain well-known brewer from Delaware is looking like a bit of a genius as all this unfolds. Some folks scoffed at his argument that he could bring wine drinkers over into the beer world and others still jest, some with a bit of envy, about the “cult of personality,” but let them chew on this from Beer Business Daily (my emphasis added via the underlining):
Craft brews, particularly big hoppy flavorful craft beers, are still growing big…Crafts also appeal to people because there is a real person behind many of the brands. One distributor pointed out to me yesterday that her wine snob friends, who would crow about Duckhorn because they met Mr. Duckhorn, now crow about Dogfish Head because they’ve met Sam Calagione. The trade over from wine to craft beers is indeed having an impact.
How you gonna keep ‘em down at the vineyard after they’ve seen Rehoboth Beach?*
*A riff on an old song lyric that I bet less than 5% of you will get. I grow old, I grow old.
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The song went something like “how you gonna keep them down on the farm now that they’ve seen Paree.”
You make good points in your column, I’m one of those wine-guys thats turning into a craft beer guy. It seems the craft beer market is where wine was 25-30 yrs or so ago, and poised to explode. Let’s just leave all the silly snobbery stuff about what to drink with what food, etc. behind and enjoy all these well made beers.
Well said, Matt. And welcome to the party. And correct about the song, a 1919 ditty about returning U.S. troops following WW!. I”ve added a video of a 2007 interpretation onsite.
Same kind of people just wet themselves when they meet Tom Bulleit (Bulleit Bourbon) and Fred Noe (Jim Beam’s great-grandson). One wonders who could have the same effect for big brewers? Is there a Miss Stella Artois in the house?