USA: Sales of domestic specialty beers are growing in popularity

The sale of domestic specialty beers is outpacing that of wine, spirits and imported beers — a trend that’s helping local breweries like Smuttynose Brewing Co. and Redhook Brewery, Associated Press commented on May 2.

Smuttynose President Peter Egelston said sales so far this year are up 50 % over last year at this time.

Redhook is now in the top 10 of craft brewers in terms of sales in 2004. It is ranked 16th in the top 50 American breweries, which includes names like Anheuser-Busch and Coors.

“We like flavorful beers now and we’re not going to drink the same old domestic beers,” said Ray Daniels, craft beer marketing director for the Brewers Association. “And now there are a smaller number of brands and those brands are stable, so there’s less brand confusion.”

Egelston said the rise in interest in craft beers goes hand-in-hand with the interest in many artisan products in the past 10 years. Specialty coffee, handmade ice cream, artisan cheeses, and single malt scotch are all drawing attention from consumers...

“There was an icky trendy aspect to it all before, but there are fewer brewers now, and there is a real interest in a variety of beer styles with flavor, integrity and authenticity.” Egelston said. “There’s a growing awareness of (artisan) products with integrity behind them.”

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