beers.” Purser adds that as of mid 2012,
there were more than 2,000 enterprises
now brewing and selling craft beers across
the country. (By comparison, half a cen-
tury ago their numbers had dwindled to
about 50, following waves of consolida-
tion beginning with Repeal in 1933.)
Today’sbeerconsumersareaccustomed
to seeing a lot of beers—with crazy names,
from far-flung places as well as just around
the corner. At the same time, with main-
stream availability of and national adver-
tising for specialty beers increasing, the
green light inviting consumers to branch
out has never been brighter. In turn, the
tilt toward experimentation is motivating
smart retailers to offer a healthy variety
while growing the premium category. A
mix of local and imports, dark and light
styles, plus seasonal bottlings broadens
the appeal for drinkers with varying levels
of comfort vs. curiosity
Big Brewers
Think Small
Mindful of the remarkable ascendancy of
craft beers, the nation’s leading brewers
and importers are busy beefing up their
specialty beer portfolios, via both line
extensions and acquisitions of established
regional brewers. Against a background
of flat sales of major national brands, in
2010
MillerCoors established a division
to focus solely on these higher-margin
brands, setting up Tenth and Blake to fur-
ther develop its best-selling Blue Moon
brand, as well as its other specialty and
imported beers, notably Pilsner Urquell.
In 2011, Anheuser-Busch acquired
an interest in the fast-expanding Chica-
go-based Goose Island brand. Guinness
broadened its American appeal with the
introduction of Guinness Black Lager in
bottles; still dark in color but lighter in
style, it proved to be a bold but success-
ful move by a brewer known for its stout.
Heineken, already well positioned in the
upscale import arena, has made several
moves: expanding the availability of sea-
sonal offerings from Newcastle; offering
Amstel Wheat Bier in bottle after success-
ful trials on tap; and pushing the envelope
in Mexican beer by launching Tecate
Michelada, the first canned RTD
mi-
chelada
in the U.S. (essentially a cocktail
made with beer, lime juice, tomato juice
and spices).
At Tenth and Blake, Craig Morris,
director of chain and customer solutions,
states: “Thanks to crafts, beer is being talk-
ed about again. And with food and beer,
there’s a new emotional dimension to the
conversation we can have with consum-
ers.” And to further the conversation with
its trade customers, Morris says Tenth and
Blake is introducing its proprietary Jour-
neyFlow, “a drinker-centric organization
and merchandising approach to manage
the craft segment and facilitate the discov-
ery and education of craft beers.”
Mark Mahoney, communications
manager at Goose Island, says, “Overall,
A-B and Goose Island are investing in
this segment; and we believe the whole
category can double in size in a decade’s
time.” Demonstrating the clout that can
come from combining national distribu-
se l ec t i on
craft & specialty
Beer
CRAFT
BEER
Photography by Brewers Association
At Savor, a craft beer festival held in Washington,
DC, in June, hundreds of beer fans sampled the
diverse offerings of 75 craft breweries along with
culinary combinations.
Mindful of the
ascendancy of
craft beers
,
the
nation’s leading
brewers and
importers are
beefing up their
specialty beer
portfolios.
