Microbreweries go flat for a while, but have been getting smarter business
Like most small breweries, Gritty McDuff's went through a gap as a craft beer sales are down in the late 1990s. Now Gritty's and craft beer industry as a whole enjoy a revival, with sales growing at their fastest pace in a decade.
Production craft beer - special brews typically made in small regional or local breweries - grew by 9 percent last year, the biggest jump since 1996, when the microbrewery fad of the '90s still going full tilt. Mainstream beer sales, meanwhile, fell slightly.
In Gritty McDuff's, production last year rose nearly 30 percent to more than 250,000 gallons.
Ed Stebbins, brewmaster and co-owner, said consumers demanding more varied and full of beer. At the same time, small breweries are putting out more consistent beer and business smarter than a decade ago, he said.
1990s boom time, with quick sales and even doubled in 1994. But growth slowed at the end of the decade, and hundreds of microbreweries and brewpubs went out of business.
The industry is growing again, but at a more sustainable level. Craft beers, Stebbins said, do not need to grow at astronomical levels that will benefit.
"I think we've learned that the beer industry does not have to grow rapidly, that it will grow steadily and slowly," Stebbins said.
Americans last year bought more than 6.3 billion gallons of beer, dominated by pale, golden-colored varieties, according to Beer Marketer's Insights trade newsletter. Five brands were Bud Light, Budweiser, Miller Lite, Coors Light and Natural Light.
But for consumers who want more variety, there is craft beer. This beer, in general, are made with wheat or barley malt - without corn, rice or added sugar - and include ales, bocks, stouts, marzens, porters and other styles that can be light or dark colors and are usually more complex in a sense.
They are often made in small batches and are more expensive than the best-selling brands - sometimes double the price. McDuff brave six-pack, for example, typically sells for $ 6.99 to $ 7.99 in supermarkets.
The most famous is the national brand of craft beer as Samuel Adams or Sierra Nevada, but there are hundreds of small breweries that distribute nationally their own brews locally and regionally.
By December, there were 1368 breweries and beverage craft brewery pub, according to the Brewers Association trade group in Boulder, Colorado
Craft beer accounts only 3.5 percent of U.S. beer sales, and imports to 12.5 percent, said Eric Shepard, executive editor of Beer Marketer's Insights. But those numbers will rise, while the major market share is declining beer.
In the 1990s, craft beer sales go. Many breweries aimed for rapid expansion, and the most hopeful thought that the industry can claim 10 percent or more of the U.S. beer market.
But the market became saturated, growth stalled and craft beer production grew at 0-4 percent per year from 1998 to 2003. More than 500 pubs and microbreweries beverages closed between 2000 and 2004, outpacing the number of novices, according to the Brewers Association.
Business is now in a progress, with production rose by about 7 percent in 2004 and 9 percent last year, according to the association. Overall beer sales in 2005 fell 0.2 percent in volume, according to Beer Marketer's Insights. Wine and spirits sales last year grew less than 3 percent in volume, according to industry organizations.
In Seattle, Georgetown Brewing Co. doubled its production last year to 186,000 gallons. Georgetown's beer, pale ale and pilsner, are sold in more than 380 bars and restaurants, or about double the number last year.
Just like coffee drinkers, beer drinkers tastes change, said Bret Chopp, operations manager and partner at Georgetown.
"I think it is a maturation of the customer base," said Chopp. "First of all, people do not know there was something out there, and once they tried they like it."
Aging Americans to help explain changes in the market, said Ray Daniels, director of marketing for the Brewers Association. Baby boomers are creeping toward senior status, and the average age of the U.S. population grew from 32.8 in 1.990-36,2 in 2004, according to the Census Bureau.
"I think in the end as consumers get older, they are more sophisticated tastes," said Norman. "And that is a big part of the growing interest in the category."
Like most small breweries, Gritty McDuff's went through a gap as a craft beer sales are down in the late 1990s. Now Gritty's and craft beer industry as a whole enjoy a revival, with sales growing at their fastest pace in a decade.
Production craft beer - special brews typically made in small regional or local breweries - grew by 9 percent last year, the biggest jump since 1996, when the microbrewery fad of the '90s still going full tilt. Mainstream beer sales, meanwhile, fell slightly.
In Gritty McDuff's, production last year rose nearly 30 percent to more than 250,000 gallons.
Ed Stebbins, brewmaster and co-owner, said consumers demanding more varied and full of beer. At the same time, small breweries are putting out more consistent beer and business smarter than a decade ago, he said.
1990s boom time, with quick sales and even doubled in 1994. But growth slowed at the end of the decade, and hundreds of microbreweries and brewpubs went out of business.
The industry is growing again, but at a more sustainable level. Craft beers, Stebbins said, do not need to grow at astronomical levels that will benefit.
"I think we've learned that the beer industry does not have to grow rapidly, that it will grow steadily and slowly," Stebbins said.
Americans last year bought more than 6.3 billion gallons of beer, dominated by pale, golden-colored varieties, according to Beer Marketer's Insights trade newsletter. Five brands were Bud Light, Budweiser, Miller Lite, Coors Light and Natural Light.
But for consumers who want more variety, there is craft beer. This beer, in general, are made with wheat or barley malt - without corn, rice or added sugar - and include ales, bocks, stouts, marzens, porters and other styles that can be light or dark colors and are usually more complex in a sense.
They are often made in small batches and are more expensive than the best-selling brands - sometimes double the price. McDuff brave six-pack, for example, typically sells for $ 6.99 to $ 7.99 in supermarkets.
The most famous is the national brand of craft beer as Samuel Adams or Sierra Nevada, but there are hundreds of small breweries that distribute nationally their own brews locally and regionally.
By December, there were 1368 breweries and beverage craft brewery pub, according to the Brewers Association trade group in Boulder, Colorado
Craft beer accounts only 3.5 percent of U.S. beer sales, and imports to 12.5 percent, said Eric Shepard, executive editor of Beer Marketer's Insights. But those numbers will rise, while the major market share is declining beer.
In the 1990s, craft beer sales go. Many breweries aimed for rapid expansion, and the most hopeful thought that the industry can claim 10 percent or more of the U.S. beer market.
But the market became saturated, growth stalled and craft beer production grew at 0-4 percent per year from 1998 to 2003. More than 500 pubs and microbreweries beverages closed between 2000 and 2004, outpacing the number of novices, according to the Brewers Association.
Business is now in a progress, with production rose by about 7 percent in 2004 and 9 percent last year, according to the association. Overall beer sales in 2005 fell 0.2 percent in volume, according to Beer Marketer's Insights. Wine and spirits sales last year grew less than 3 percent in volume, according to industry organizations.
In Seattle, Georgetown Brewing Co. doubled its production last year to 186,000 gallons. Georgetown's beer, pale ale and pilsner, are sold in more than 380 bars and restaurants, or about double the number last year.
Just like coffee drinkers, beer drinkers tastes change, said Bret Chopp, operations manager and partner at Georgetown.
"I think it is a maturation of the customer base," said Chopp. "First of all, people do not know there was something out there, and once they tried they like it."
Aging Americans to help explain changes in the market, said Ray Daniels, director of marketing for the Brewers Association. Baby boomers are creeping toward senior status, and the average age of the U.S. population grew from 32.8 in 1.990-36,2 in 2004, according to the Census Bureau.
"I think in the end as consumers get older, they are more sophisticated tastes," said Norman. "And that is a big part of the growing interest in the category."
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