Craft Brewing Business

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Craft Brewing Business

Craft beer now outselling Budweiser

Budweiser, the flagship beer of the mighty Anheuser-Busch, is still one of the most widely distributed and consumed alcoholic beverages on the planet, but it’s now officially consumed less than craft beer. We direct you to this handy infographic from the Wall Street Journal:

Budweiser v craft beer

Obviously this steady decline has dozens of factors, but the craft beer boom definitely deserves some of the credit as drinking habits are evolving around the country. And that’s not just the hyperbole of a craft beer business site — Anheuser-Busch itself is actually changing its marketing approach to try and win back its lost market share in the craft beer-hungry 21-27 age demo. From the Wall Street Journal:

In that demographic, craft beer makes up 15% of their out-of-home buys, compared with 10% for older generations, according to Nielsen, and it is growing by two percentage points a year. They also consume more cider, flavored-malt beverages and ready-to-drink cocktails.

Another thing about that demo: According to Anheuser-Busch’s own numbers, 44 percent of people in that age bracket have never even tried a Bud. That’s a big number. Will be interested to see if a few new commercials stop the bleeding.

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