The Winds of Change

The best part of a beer war is the beer war after party

For those like me who are firmly entrenched on the crafty side of the Great War of Beer Liberation, it should come as no surprise to learn that Big Beer is losing. We already know this. But thanks to the public relations efforts of our corn-based opponents, the average American beer drinker may not. Quite honestly, it’s easy to imagine that if I weren’t as “plugged in” to the beer world as I am, I would have no information to go off of other than the dumb yellow beer commercial that inundate my nightly television screen.

Thanks to one of my fellow hop-headed craft warriors, I have been shown a main-stream media article that gives proof that the alleged giants of American beer are, in fact, conceding ground to the little guys at a fever pitch. This article, entitled “8 beers Americans no longer drink,” and written by something called 24/7WallSt.com, appeared on msnbc.com back on September 9^th, 2011 and gave a list of beers that have lost over 30% of their market share over the last five years. The article attributes the loss in share to a shift in American beer drinking towards imports, CRAFT BEERS and lower-calorie beers.

For those who aren’t inclined towards clicking on links, but still want to see the list (and the staggering percentages of lost market shares), here it is:

1.  Michelob: down 72% from 2006 to 2010

2.  Michelob Light: down 64% for the same period

3.  Bud Select: down 60%, same period

4. Milwaukee’s Best: down 53%, same period

5.  Old Milwaukee: down 52%, same period

6.  Miller Genuine Draft: down 51%, same period

7.  Milwaukee’s Best Light: down 34%, same period

8.  BUDWEISER(!): down 30% for the same period

Yeah… that’s right. The so-called King of Beers has lost 30% of its market share in the last five years! There are two ways to look at this. First, given the sheer amount of sales that Budweiser does, losing 30% is probably not Earth-shattering to AB-InBev, particularly since their other labels are also contributing to their overall bottom line. Second, 30% of the obscenely large amount of sales that Budweiser used to do is still a very significant acquisition of the total market by good beer. Either way you want to look at this number, it’s good news for those of us who have graduated to premium beer.

Another interesting blog that references this very same article is called “Why I Don’t Drink Budweiser… and Why I’m Not Alone” by a blogger who calls himself The Pour Fool. If you’re looking for more anti-big-beer facts and knowledge bombs, like why the founder of Anheuser Busch referred to his own product (Budweiser) as “that slop,” you’ll definitely find this blog post a good read.

Here’s to craft-brewed happiness… Cheers!