Beer here: a confluence of events makes for a mixed bag of beer sales this year

Cheers, June, 2003 by Michael Sherer

War, weather, economic woes and wary consumers - what else could go wrong? Try SARS and sundry other calamities. If you believe in Murphy's Law - everthing that can go wrong will - then you've already settled into your well-stocked bomb shelter to sip on reconstituted Tang and sup on MREs.

For those with a more positive outlook, however, things aren't half bad. Despite - or perhaps because of - all the craziness that has kept consumers on tenterhooks recently, they're still going out, albeit less often than before.

The beer industry saw a modest gain of 1.3% in 2002, according to Adams Beverage Group's 2003 Handbook Advance, with craft beer, imports and light beer seeing the strongest gains. But in January and February, domestic beer sales were off 2.5%, or 700,000 barrels, according to the Association of Brewers. Imports were hit even harder down 8.5%.

"Our sales are flat, but we're happy to be so," says John Lane, partner at Winking Lizard Tavern, Cleveland. "We had the second worst snow year on record, so winter was a little rough."

Now that we're heading into summer, though, people's thoughts are turning to beaches, bikinis and beer. What are they likely to be looking for?

BIG BRANDS, BIGGER FLAVORS

The beer business is still dominated by the big three domestic brewers-Anheuser-Busch, SABMiller and Coors-and summer is prime selling season for these big guys. Consumers will be blitzed with the usual barrage of advertising and promotions, prompting many of them to order what they see on television.

There's no doubt the big guys can help you pump a lot of volume through your operation. When it announced its quarterly earnings in April, for example, Anheuser-Busch posted both volume and revenue gains and claimed it now has more than half the domestic beer market with a 52.1% share. Even brewpubs often carry products like Bud Light, Miller Lite or Coors Light for those not adventurous enough to try the house brew.

"You don't see a lot of breweries that carry beer other than their own," says Kirk Aardahl, director of beverages for RAM International, Lakewood, WA, "About 80 percent of the beer we sell is ours, but we sell Coors, Bud and bottles, too, so we can bring in people who only want a domestic,"

Ram International, a Cheers Award winner for best chain beer program this year, operates 23 brewpubs in eight states. The chain's stores operate under a half dozen concepts, such as C.B. & Potts, Humperdinks, Shenanigan's and The Ram. The company's Bighorn beers, brewed on premise, are common to all, but concepts and menus vary.

The big boys aren't the only game in town, of course. More and more consumers are trying the wide variety of styles and flavors available from craft brewers and importers.

"We do see a lot more people opening their minds to beer beyond Coors Light or Bud Light," says Kip snider, beverage manager at the Yard House, Irvine, CA, "particularly with micros that are brewed in a lighter style. Sierra Nevada used to be about the only pale ale you could get. Now there are 50 or more." The Yard House, with 250 tap handles in its flagship Long Beach store, has a good percentage of those, along with most other beer styles. The four-unit chain plans three more stores in the next year

"The big three-and-a-half -- Bud, Coors, Miller and Sam Adams -- still account for the bulk of our sales, about 75 to 80%," says Tim Johnson, beverage director at Champps Entertainment, Denver, "but craft beers like Fat Tire still continue to fill in gaps and offer opportunities to raise check averages."

BOLD FLAVORS

People who are drinking other than mainstream domestics seem to be looking for bigger, bolder flavors and more-unusual brands.

"The American palate is really into hops right now." says Beatty McDonald, manager of Rebones, Somerville, MA.

"There's a lot of movement towards Belgian style and" hoppy styles, more intense flavors," agrees Chris Black Falling Rock Tap House, Denver. "People are looking or the, next thing that will knock their socks off like the first time they tried something beyond an industrial lager."

Beers that are attracting consumers' attention come from far and wide. Redbones recently ran a special on a hard-to-find 1997 Swedish porter, then featured a wheat beer the following week.

At the Yard House, Belgian ales like Hoegaarden White and Lindeman's Framboise are becoming more popular, and Stella Artois got another tap handle because it sold so fast.

Half the beer sales at Winking Lizard Tavern come from Miller Lite and Labatt Blue, but brands like Great Lakes, Newcastle Brown, Hoegaarden and Sierr Nevada are selling well too.

"We brought in Rogue ales for our seasonal draft pro gram six years ago," says Lane, "and we, couldn't give it away. We brought it back this year and it's doing wonder fully. People are ready to try big flavors."

Dba, New York, last year's Cheers Award winner for best independent beer program, prides, itself on its selection of hand-pumped, cask-conditioned ale Having something that unusual gives customers another reason to come.