Posted on 01/21/2010 9:29:36 AM PST by Pyro7480
U.S. beer sales volumes fell 2.2% last year, the highest rate since the 1950s, with demand worsening late in the year in a sign of the pressures on big brewers to make their mergers pay off.
The decline, the industry's first since 2003, raises demands for industry leaders Anheuser-Busch InBev NV and MillerCoors LLC to come up with better advertising and to rethink recent price increases, said retailers and analysts.
But they must tread carefully, balancing price moves against a need to drive profits in the wake of the mergers that created the two.
The two giants increased prices by about 5% last year, fresh off InBev NV's acquisition of Anheuser-Busch Cos. and the move by SABMiller PLC and Molson Coors Brewing Co. to combine U.S. operations. Those increases, along with a weak job market and lackluster advertising, contributed to the sales drop, industry analysts said....
Anheuser, the maker of Bud Light, posted a 2.1% decline in shipments last year, its biggest drop since 1976, according to preliminary research by Beer Marketer's Insights. MillerCoors, which produces Coors Light and Blue Moon, had a 1.9% drop. Large suppliers specializing in imported beers fared worse, with Crown Imports LLC, importer of Corona, showing a 5% drop. The small-batch "craft" beer industry continued to represent an industry bright spot, with the biggest among the craft brewers, Boston Beer Co., showing a 1.7% increase.
(Excerpt) Read more at online.wsj.com ...
I'm guessing you keg your beer, as opposed to bottling.
I agree, I like Stone's regular IPA but the Ruination is a bit much. My latest favorite IPA is Anderson Valley's Hop Ottin' IPA If you love a hoppy IPA you can't beat it.
I am old enough to remember when cities on the East coast with large ethnic populations had at least 8 or 10 local breweries that were the “literal” micro brews. And, in any bar, the bar had to have at least 4 of those on tap as different people from different “clans” liked different brews. In those days, “Miller High Life” was a premium beer...seriously! The old guys reminisced about the marvelous beer in Munchen, but that was in memory.
I think beer is highly personal, and that “there is no disputing taste” to paraphrase the Latin. If someone wants to buy an $18 six pack, that’s fine by me—it’s their dough. I have less expensive tastes.
I will say that one local beer I really liked was Henry Wiedemeyer’s Special Reserve which I got in Portland. It was good brew. I’ve had many brews, and I’ll take a Yuengling any time. I do like Guinness on tap, though. But then, I get it from the “source” as I travel back a lot.
>> If you love a hoppy IPA
I do*. I’ll keep an eye out for it, thanks for the tip.
*and since practically no one else that I know likes hoppy beers — more for me!
Drinking Bud is close to being a commie....
Bump for later
Blocked
“Crown Imports LLC, importer of Corona, showing a 5% drop.”
Corona is a fad beer that tastes like piss to me. I guess that’s why people put lime in it.
BLASPHEMY!
them theres fightin words
>>>>I guess that’s why people put lime in it<<<<<<
Nah, they do that because they are GAY.
That Oregon beer you mention is atually Henry Wienhard’s.
Yuengling ping
Cool.:)
Must be what democrat government staffers drink.
Ditto’s. I release the Gray Goose from the freezer Friday evening and add ice with 2 large olives. One cocktail glass makes my evening.
Congratulations! If you didn't have patience before, you will soon. There's no instant gratification with homebrewing. The closest you can come is to taste a bit at bottling time - it won't be carbonated, but it WILL be alcohol. It's like spinning straw into gold.
I know, but I still can't wait! It's something I've wanted to do for a long time...I'm really itching to try my hand at it and finally enjoy my own brew. (Maybe if I chug a mouthful of malt extract and wash it down with a shot or two of grain alcohol, I can get a reasonably close preview, LOL.)
<<<>>> Wait, wait while I’m not a HUGE fan of Sam Adams line of beers I cannot let your post without comment. SA is pretty much availible anywhere in the states on draft which is 200 times better than any other large commercials stuff like Bud, Miller, Coors, etc. Their Boston Lager is actually a high quality product for the style so I can understand your attitude *if* you’re just not a European Lager fan. While I prefer mostly German and Belgian offerings, I still find their porter, Chocolate Stout and Summer/Winter Ale to be top shelve in their respective categories. Jim Koch is a huge advocate of home-brewers and gives a lot of his time and money to promote and encourage home brewing. For that, if I’m somewhere that doesn’t serve one of my commerical favorites I’ll order a Sam Adams. Now, I will tell you that their Cherry Lambic is horrid and frankly I’ve tasted new home-brewer’s lambics that were better. Too me, that is not even a Lambic because it tastes like they used a common wheat beer and threw sweetened cherry juice in it prior to bottling.
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