According to the Brewer's Association, 1 in ten beer drinkers drink "craft beer" while the Distilled Spirits Council says nearly 1/2 of all alcohol consumed is beer.
ONE-THOUSAND of today's U.S. Breweries are Brewpubs while small and independent brewers are up 1.3 million barrels in 2011, and trending up in 2012.
We see new craft breweries opening regularly and we see expansion underway for so many breweries.
As of April 30, there were 2000 Small craft breweries with another 1184 in planning stages.
There is even a struggle about what is a craft brew. Is Sam Adams Boston Lager a craft brew today? Well, let's see. It came from a homebrewer who started out brewing on his kitchen stove just like Nathan and I did (and so many who read this site). The brewers have true passion for beer. Yet, it is the flagship of the largest American Owned brewery in the U.S. Maybe THAT beer is not craft. But is "Thirteenth Hour" Belgian Stout from Boston Brewers a craft beer? I certainly think so. This wonderful roasty beer with Belgian Yeast is brewed artfully in small batches.
Here's to craft beer. Cheers to all of our local, regional, and even national craft brewers!
Greg Kitz
Thanks to Julia Herz of the Brewer's Association for some of the statistics.
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The Beer Is Good!
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5 comments:
Two things: If craft beer only has a 6% marketshare then how is 1 in 10 beer drinkers drinking craft beer? Are they saying that segment drinks less?
2: Yuengling is the largest American owned craft brewer. If Sam Adams is craft then they are as well.
According to Wikipedia (I realize this may not be the best source of information but it's what I have available) Yuengling and Sam Adams have the same output of 2.5 million barrels. As far as I can tell the Brewers Association doesn't consider Yuengling a craft brewer because they are an adjunct brewer and limited to regional. I personally don't consider Sam a regional brewer because Boston Lager is simply an extremely slightly more flavorful version of Budwiser.
On the subject of Sam Adams Thirteenth Hour - just saw it should start shipping in a few weeks with a suggested retail price of $9.99. Everyone has different tolerance levels of price for a bottle of beer, but I'll pick one up for that price. What do you think Greg?
Love the comments. See. what I mean about 'what is CRAFT beer?' And to stir the pot a bit more, are the Blonde beers that many local breweries and brewpubs put out craft? Hey, I just like good beer -- and some of the "gateway to craft..." beers are not my favorites.
YES, having had Thirteenth hour, I will pay $9.99 for more than on bomber.
oops.. I will pay $9.99 for more than ONE bomber
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