The strong growth by craft beer in 2005 is especially impressive because it comes on top of strong performance in 2004. Craft beer clearly leads the beer industry in consumer appeal.
There's an overall cycle, but I think the beer industry will keep up. Wine and spirits are popular for a few years, then they go out of fashion. Everything just seems to have collided right now.
To some degree, they're going after people who are relatively new to the drinking age, to keep them from mixing a spirit with an energy drink. With the fruit beers, the stereotype is it's marketed toward women. There are just so many other options out there today.
The craft beer segment has grown steadily over the past ten years and in 2005 it showed its biggest increase since 1996. The strong growth in craft beer sales over the past several years shows American consumers' continuing interest in flavorful American beers.
The passion of craft-brew drinkers is far higher than that of normal beer drinkers. They feel like they're helping out their local brewery.
Their level of loyalty pretty much exists to the next thing they want to do. I think that bodes well to getting out of this corporate beer mentality.
Craft beer volume growth far exceeded that of large brewers, wine and spirits in 2005. And even though imported beer grew nicely in 2005, craft beer grew at a faster rate.
They have an incredible reputation among the hard-core beer drinkers.
As a brand extension, Zima Gold failed miserably.
