Across the board mirroring most industries, alcohol sales were down in 2009, beer being no exception with a drop in sales of about 2%. Craft beer sales fared well despite the economic slump, with a sharp sales boost of 10.3% and a volume increase of 7.2%, according to the Brewers Association. That's in influx of 613,992 additional barrels of quality, hand produced craft beer into the beer market. Mosey on over to their site for more detailed information.
In their article, the Brewer's Association states:
In 2009, craft brewers represented 4.3 percent of volume and 6.9 percent of retail dollars for the total U.S. beer category. With the total U.S. beer industry representing an estimated retail dollar value of $101 billion, the Brewers Association estimates the actual dollar sales figure from craft brewers in 2009 was $7 billion, up from $6.3 billion in 2008.
In the grand scheme of things, craft beer is still the needle in the haystack, but these figures have some profound implications. First of all, Americans are drinking considerably less beer. A nationwide drop of two percent is no small margin. Second, some are clearly transmigrating to different suds. And thirdly, and most importantly to me, there is room ...
