Beer is back in the news

Gee, I’m not sure the article was that bad.

Both Jay Brooks and Beercraft Blog take a piece in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette to task for an article headlined “Beer sales falling flat as wine, other beverages grow in popularity.”

Granted, the story had its problems, but having just returned from a couple of weeks of grabbing newspapers and magazines I don’t often read I was impressed by the amount of positive attention craft beer is getting. I didn’t see anything comparable for wine or spirits.

In Champaign (Illinois) a local newspaper story offered kudos to the Blind Pig, an old/new bar who owner has shifted his emphasis from music to beer.

In St. Louis, Sauce Magazine’s Readers’ Choice 2006 poll featured the results of Favorite Local Brewery (Saint Louis Brewery/Schlafly beers) and Favorite Beer Selection (Growlers Pub) on the same page with Favorite Butcher and Favorite Coffee Roaster.

In Chicago, Where Magazine – stocked in hotel rooms throughout the metropolitan area – reported on “Beer, Glorious Beer.” It included four breweries and four brewpubs.

The Chicago Reader, a leading alternative newspaper, supplemented a feature on ice cream floats with a piece about beer floats.

In Milwaukee, Travelhost Magazine, another hotel supplement, reviewed several beer friendly restaurants.

That’s a lot of positive coverage.

And it’s not on the business pages. Business writers have long grouped big beer and little beer together when it comes to spotting trends or comparing beer sales to sales of spirits. That’s not going to stop.

Business stories report on what has (or is) happening. These other stories help influence what (is or) will be occuring.

2 thoughts on “Beer is back in the news”

  1. Some things just rub me the wrong way, and the way the Pittsburgh article got started just set me off. There was positive in the middle, but the beginning (which is all many people read) had missing stats that didn’t support its point and the last third was riddled with inaccuracies and plain nonsense. I just coudn’t help myself.

    Glad to see the more positive coverage you mentioned but every rag you listed was local and my bone of contention was/is that the bigger the media, the more they ignore or demonize beer.

    Cheers,

    J

  2. I certainly wasn’t defending the story.

    Anyway, while I’m not sure the Post-Gazette has any more reach than the Chicago Reader I think you bring up a good point when you talk about Size.

    Many publications, particularly in business, are looking at the “big picture.” There are big picture successes for craft beer (double digit growth by good-size breweries) but there are tons more small success stories, best told locally. They add up to a lot.

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