American Craft Beer The Best Craft Beer, Breweries, Bars, Brewpubs, Beer Stores, And Restaurants Serving Serious Beer.
We blame the industry for this… It used to be that when we wrapped up our Weekend Picks on Friday, we could coast through the weekend. There was little need to check in for updates -things were pretty much done. But clearly all that’s changed.
So here’s some of what’s happened in the world of craft beer while you were off enjoying yourselves.
Become an Instant Beer Sales Stats Master! (Boulder, CO) – Our friends at the Brewers Association just published a snapshot graphic on last’s year’s beer sales that easily puts 2013 into perspective and will allow you to wow your drinking buddies with your brilliant command of the subject! Here’s the skinny: Overall Beer Sales -Down (-1.9%), Craft Beer Sales-Up (+17.2), Imports -Down (-0.6%), Craft Beer Exports -Up (+49%), 2013 Craft Beer Marketshare Up (+7.8%).
Midwestern Craft Beer Consumers: Step Up To Drink 20% More (Cleveland, OH) – Great Lakes Brewing Company recently announced a $7 million upgrade at the brewery, including four 600 barrel fermenters and two 600 barrel bright tanks. The additional equipment, along with updates to infrastructure and packaging operations, will yield an estimated 20% increase in their capacity. “I think the people of Cleveland should be able to absorb this increase,” observed Tom Bobak, the Editor-In-Chief for American Craft Beer. “They’re a seasoned and practiced breed who on any given night can drink 20% more than most Midwesterners.”
Shocker – One Third of US Bars No longer Carry Big Three Light Beers (Everywhere, USA) – In yet another sign of the sorry decline of once dominant Big Beer brands, a new survey released by analysts at CLSA has found that 31% of the venues surveyed admitted to not stocking Bud Light, Miller Lite, or Coors Light!
District Breweries Can Now Sell Pints in Their Tasting Rooms (Washington, DC) – The ACB compound (which is based in DC) went crazy when we learned that we can drink bigger glasses of beer when we’re hanging with our brewery buds at their tasting rooms! The Washington Post is reporting that “thanks to the Manufacturer Tasting Permit Emergency Amendment Act of 2014, breweries in Washington can now apply for a permit that allows them to sell pints of beer during regular operating hours. Previously, breweries in the city were only allowed to offer a maximum of 12 ounces of beer per customer…”
Record Year for the Colorado Brewers Festival (Fort Collins, CO) – It was the 25th anniversary for Colorado’s Brewers Festival and this year’s event drew 18,000 attendees to the city’s Civic Center Park area. That’s a ginormous 100% boost over last year’s attendance and a 20% boost over the fest’s average annual attendance of 15,000, which is pretty awesome. One of the festival’s highlights was the Summit area, which poured 20 rotating specialty and hard-to-find beers each day and was ridiculously popular.
