AB InBev, the world's
biggest beer brewer, has acquired a significant stake in one of China's best known craft brewers, in a move that shakes up the country's tiny but booming craft beer scene and, the slumping beer giant hopes, its own bottom line.
Not exact matches
There's a
big hurdle standing in the way of every
brewer who wants to blend pot and
beer, though: the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency.
That deal has helped Constellation Brands report the strongest
beer growth among the «
Big Four»
brewers.
The world's
biggest beer makers have been angling to tap rising interest in the craft category, which generated $ 19.6 billion in retail sales last year and now accounts for 11 % of the total
beer market, according to industry trade group the
Brewers Association.
Denver is the home of the Great American
Beer Festival and many of craft's
biggest names, while Charlotte is a fast - growing
beer city with a number of very strong
brewers who are gaining a national reputation.
Carlsberg The Danish
brewer reduced its forecast this summer: It now expects sales in Russia, where it is the
biggest brewer — the company says it commands 39 % of the country's
beer market and operated 10 breweries — to full 6 % to 7 %.
The companies that make those
beers, Boston
Beer (sam) and Molson Coors (tap - a) respectively, have found themselves in a war of words after The New York Times published an op - ed by Boston
Beer founder Jim Koch in which the
brewer lamented the effect
Big Beer mergers have had on the craft
beer industry.
The Heineken - Lagunitas link - up is part of a broader trend of the world's
biggest brewers scooping up full or controlling stakes in craft
beer rivals.
Craft
beers, as defined by the
Brewers Association, must be less than 25 % controlled by a
big brewer.
«If you have a great
beer, it isn't a sin to join with a
big brewer and make your
beer a success,» says Blue Moon's Villa.
You'd be hard - pressed to find a more divisive issue in the craft
beer community than
Big Beer's recent shopping spree for small
brewers.
Craft
beer lovers can take comfort: The
Brewers Association reports that there are now more than 4,000 active breweries in the U.S., so
Big Beer buyouts can't possibly match the pace of new businesses.
The market share within craft has grown from 1 % to over 3 % over that period within the U.S. Heineken's
beer volume growth, like other
big brewers, is far slower, rising 3.6 % in the Americas in the first half of 2015.
Here are the craft
beers and
brewers getting all the buzz and winning People's Choice honors at the country's
biggest beer celebration.
The best light
beers are made by the
big brewers because they are fundamentally technical, not artistic, achievements.
«There is confusion and unfortunately a lack of transparency on the labels of the acquired brand,» says Julia Herz, craft
beer program director for the
Brewers Association, which advocates on behalf of small and independent brewers not owned or controlled by Bi
Brewers Association, which advocates on behalf of small and independent
brewers not owned or controlled by Bi
brewers not owned or controlled by
Big Beer.
The strong sales in the U.S. bode well for
big industry players like Diageo (deo), Pernod Ricard (pdrdy), and Brown - Forman (bfb), as well as the emerging, fast - growing craft spirits industry that is mirroring the success craft
brewers had in the
beer world.
Big beer companies and craft
brewers alike say different, and they're rolling out new cans with wider mouths and funky designs that they claim make for vastly superior
beer drinking.
The
Brewers Association has launched a new suite of materials to help retailers activate the independent craft
brewer seal in their businesses and differentiate authentic independent craft
beer from
Big Beer acquired brands.
For one,
big brewers have lost market share amid the craft
beer revolution as small, regional brands gain favor with drinkers.
Craft
beer is also
big business, having an economic impact in Ohio of $ 238.1 million in 2012, according to the
Brewers Association.
Although many craft
beer brands have become national after being purchased by the
big brewers, the majority of craft breweries remain locally focused.
Craft
brewers across Australia are wondering who might be next as global giants scoop up local brands, but it's a battle maintaining street cred if you fall into the arms of
big beer.
Eric Ottaway, CEO of Brooklyn Brewing, the 11th
biggest craft
brewer in the United States which also has a licensing agreement in Australia with Coopers Brewery, said on Thursday that Brooklyn had focused on tap
beer first in Australia to build up its brand in part because of the power of the two
big retailers.
Big brewers such as Lion and Asahi are no longer part of the Craft
Beer Industry Association, with the army of small micro-
brewers that has sprung up deciding to exclude them because their vast balance sheets were deemed to give them an unfair advantage, which didn't sit well with the small business entrepreneurs driving most craft
beer companies.
The world's
biggest beer company, AB InBev, has swallowed craft
brewer Pirate Life in its second craft
beer buy - up in Australia in two months.
The declining appeal of commercial, mainstream
beers is driving mega-mergers, but how do
big brewers tap into the more sophisticated habits of consumers?
Some time this evening, Brussels time, the second -
biggest brewer in the world will be subsumed into the
biggest, creating a
beer behemoth of... read more
«As
Big Beer acquires former craft brands,
beer drinkers have become increasingly confused about which
brewers remain independent.
Helped by its sponsorship of the FIFA World Cup, Anheuser - Busch InBev, the world's
biggest brewer, increased
beer volumes by 2 % in its second quarter and by 1.5 % in the first half of 2010.
From winter warmers to
big imperial stouts to IPAs, craft
brewers tell us about the 2017 winter
beers they're releasing this season.
Luckily, many craft
brewers and even
big breweries are now offering special gluten free
beer.
Heineken,
Big Drop back Club Soda's Mindful Drinking Christmas Festival Heineken's 0.0
beer, along with low - alcohol craft
brewer Big Drop, will sponsor a mindful drinking festival in London this mont...
With more than 100 microbreweries and craft
brewers now dotting the map in Southern California, traveling to each and every one could prove difficult for even the
biggest of
beer fans.
Here's how
big America's brewing scene has ballooned: Even if you visited one brewery daily, it'd take 11 - plus years to hit the country's 4,269
beer makers — the highest number in American history, according to the
Brewers Association.
Baker notes: «The explosion of craft
beer segment along with on - premise consumption will drive more small
brewers to open their outlets in cities as traditional distribution channels are crowded with
big brands.
«The
biggest issues for
beer are time, temperature, light, and how well a
brewer did their job,» said Magliaro.
I'm not a real
big fan of some of the major
beer producers due to the rising prominence of craft
brewers, but DEO's spirit portfolio looks rock solid to me.
Similarly, «[t] he micro-brewery trend started in the mid-1970s in response to the «homogenization» of the American
beer market by the
big brewers.