Comments on: Weekend reading: What do they mean by beer?

By: Stephen Beaumont

Stephen Beaumont — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 13:53:32 +0000

The idea that so-called Millennials are trading beer and spirits for wine is highly questionable, Stan. I just returned from the Cheers Beverage Conference last week and every single bit of data I saw there indicated that Millennials don’t give a toss about wine. In fact, a seminar on how to attract Millennials as customers suggested that imported and domestic craft beer and quality cocktails were increasingly the way to go.

By: Ron Pattinson

Ron Pattinson — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 07:15:39 +0000

When Ale and Beer were legally different things “malt liquor” was the general term encompassing both.

By: Kevin

Kevin — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 14:45:36 +0000

I share your wish that craft beer was more a part of the dialog. But I am not sure that it is a realistic expectation.

For the majority of reporters in traditional media outlets it may not make much sense, in the limited real estate they are given, to care about the distinctions between macro- and microbreweries. Those of us that love craft beer have an agenda, but our agenda represents a very small percentage of the overall beer sales in this country.

If craft beer represented 20-30% of beer sales, then it might make a difference, and it should be covered. But given that in 2008 it was 6% of dollars and 4% of volume, and a big chunk of that is Sam Adams…. I am not sure that it shows a lack of balance to not go to more depth on the statistics.

I sometimes wonder if our focus on craft beer, and the number of people we follow on blogs or on Twitter that share our focus, cloud us to the fact that for the most part, we really are a very small community.

By: Alan

Alan — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 14:20:32 +0000

I now prefer to analogize self-styled celebrity brewers to excellent deli counter managers rather than rock stars. Or is it top notch forensic accountants? P’raps you can touch on these alternatives Monday, too.

By: Pivní Filosof

Pivní Filosof — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 12:24:12 +0000

Good point and makes you think about how most people, journalists included, perceive beer and wine.

For most, “beer” means just a brand, “wine” is seen more as a drink, and therefore, more sophisticated. However, and though I don’t have figures to back it up, I bet much of the increase in wine sales is thanks to the cheaper end of the spectrum, and I mean the very cheap, which are wines that are pretty much ignored by the specialised media, as if they were something else.