Lotte Peplow, the Brewers Association’s American craft beer ambassador for Europe, looks at an important American sporting spectacle and what’s happening in the American craft brewing world.
The most iconic sporting spectacle in America occurs on Sunday, 12th February: the Super Bowl. Taking place in Glendale, Arizona, it’s one of the most watched sporting events in the world, and a legendary symbol of American culture. The number of NFL games played in the UK has increased since the tradition began in 2007, and with it there’s a growing UK fanbase.
American craft beer and American football go hand in hand, so let’s look at what’s going on in the American craft brewing industry today. Read on for an overview of the Brewers Association’s annual consumer survey, looking at trends within the American craft beer industry.
Increased competition
In America, craft beer consumption is slowing, and one of the primary reasons is due to increased competition within the beverage alcohol space. With more choice than ever before, American craft brewers are facing stiff competition from wine, liquor, hard seltzer, cider, flavoured malt beverages, ready to drink, and more.
In the survey, the number of consumers indicating increased consumption over a 12-month period decreased from 14% of respondents in 2017 to 7% in 2022. Furthermore, 11% of American craft beer drinkers claim they drink less craft beer now because they drink more of something else, up from 8% in 2017. And 90% of weekly craft beer drinkers say they drink at least one other beverage alcohol category weekly.
When a consumer walks into a bar these days, they’re not thinking “what craft beer shall I try first?” they’re thinking “what beverage alcohol shall I buytoday?”.
Brewery count growth
Despite competition from other beverage alcohol categories, beer remains a dominant beverage in America today. Craft brewers accounted for 13.1% by volume and 26.8% by financial value of the total US beer market.
There are approximately 9,500 American craft breweries and, despite the last three challenging years, the number of breweries has continued to grow, albeit more slowly. The number of openings and closings is expected to balance out
this year as the industry moves into a more mature pattern of growth.
Flavours
Survey participants were asked which flavours they were interested in versus a year ago, and responses included crisp, juicy/hazy, dark, malty, hoppy, spicy, and tart.
Crisp is trending as a dominant flavour with steady growth over the last five years. Crisp holds interest among all craft beer drinkers, from those who drink daily to those who only indulge several times a year. Crisp is also the most popular flavour profile among all age groups.
Juicy/hazy flavours were also popular, up 9% in the last three years, and appeal to consumers under 54. Tart beers are the least popular and polarising by age, with the over-45 age group not keen on them. But 50% of people say they’re more interested in tart than they were a year ago.
Photographs: Brewers Association
Demographics
The American craft brewing industry is a maturing market. Breweries are getting older, as are beer drinkers. A few year ago, Millenials may have been on higher incomes, enabling them to afford more high-end products more regularly, but they’re moving out of that stage now and drinking less or adapting their consumption accordingly.
In the last ten years, the average age of the craft beer drinker has gone up by one and a half years, and the trend is expected to continue. By 2030 the American Census Bureau projects there’ll be as many legal drinking age population Gen Zs (born between 1996 and 2010) as Baby Boomers (born between 1945 and 1965), and 15 million more Millennials (born between 1981 and 1995) as both the former categories.
Changing consumer preferences
The next generation of craft beer drinkers is showing greater interest in what goes into their beer. Weekly craft beer drinkers were asked what attributes they were interested in, such as local ingredients, low carb, low ABV, organic, low calorie, gluten free, smaller formats ,etc.
Local ingredients ranked highest, followed by lower ABV and low calories. Some of the trends we’re seeing in the broader alcohol beverage category are only going to intensify within craft beer as the incoming generation of beer drinkers clearly cares more about these attributes than previous generations. The youngest segment, 21– to 24-year-olds, showed stronger interest in these attributes than in the past. The number of respondents not interested in any of the attributes dropped from 37% in 2019 to 27% in 2022.
Craft beer styles and trends
IPAs remain the dominant style in the American craft beer world, accounting for approximately one -third of the craft beer market. Part of IPA’s success stems from the category’s continual evolution. A category formerly marked by high bitterness is now inviting a new and growing segment of beer drinkers seeking less bitter, juicier, and hazy profiles, in addition to the classic American IPA.
Lagers and lighter styles are also growing. Some of this growth may be due to the effects of the generational shift, as an ageing population moves towards lighter styles, but it may also be because the latest legal drinking age drinkers grew up, and are more accustomed to, craft beer as an option than previous generations. The majority of the beer market is lager, so if craft brewers can find a way to unlock the potential for craft lager, and convince consumersto pay the price for quality, there’s an opportunity for breweries.
American craft brewers pioneered the global trend for craft beer, and their brewing skill, creativity, and relentless innovation produces world-class quality beers that are popular throughout the world and regularly win top honours at prestigious international beer competitions. Last autumn, American craft beers won a total of 85 medals at three high-profile global competitions.
Craft Brewers Conference
There’s still time to register for the Brewers Association’s Craft Brewers Conference and BrewExpo America, America’s largest gathering of the craft brewing industry, and World Beer Cup, which is taking place in Nashville, Tennessee, from 7th-10th May.
The conference delivers concentrated, affordable brewing education and idea sharing to improve brewery quality and performance. More than 11,000 brewing industry professionals will have the opportunity to meet with 500 exhibitors and hear from 200 speakers during more than 70 seminars across ten relevant educational tracks, ranging from brewery operations to sustainability and government affairs.
The World Beer Cup, often referred to as ‘the Olympics of Beer’, is expected to be the most competitive to date, with more than 11,000 entries anticipated from around the world. Winners are announced at an awards ceremony on 10th May. Craft Brewers Conference registration closes on 29th April.
• The Brewers Association publishes a wealth of resources to understand and enjoy craft beer, downloadable free of charge from brewersassociation.org.
