Craft In A Can
If there is an icon of mainstream beer, a thing that symbolizes the kind of beer that craft beer drinkers love to hate, it is the can. Beer cans are practically synonymous with American light lager beers, despite the popularity of imported nitrocans filled with Guinness, Abbot and other beers.... Read More
Porters and Stouts
Then I grew up and had a beer, and ran into porters and stouts. The relationships of these beers makes for one very, very messy Venn diagram, with more circles than a UFO nut’s cornfield, a lot of scratched-out lines and erasures, and some really odd intersections. Porter definitely came... Read More
Made in Maine
Those words mean something to people. Whether it’s because of L.L. Bean’s solid reputation for good craftsmanship and standing behind their products, the quirky natural toothpastes from Tom’s of Maine, or just the love of lobsters, Maine has a great reputation in New England and beyond. “The further away you... Read More
Prosepcts for Imports
What happened? Hard to say. Promotions remained big, there were no blows to consumer loyalty. The beer market in the US overall was weak, but that never slowed the overseas brigade before. There is a possibility that things just reached a natural ceiling, but that doesn’t seem likely. A likely... Read More
More of the Same
There are new mergers to get used to, new beers from large and small brewers both foreign and domestic, new regulations from the government, new attacks from the anti-alcohol folks, and new growth in wine and spirits. But it looks like the only new growth you might see is in... Read More
The Rise and Fall of FMB’s
Alcopops, malternatives, “FMBs’, hard drinks: whatever you call them – and what you do call them probably identifies your slot in the alcohol beverage business – these sweet, beer-strength drinks have had an amazing and fast-moving career. From odd and abortive beginnings in the ‘6Os and ‘7Os – StingRay, Hop’n’Gator,... Read More
Rogue is Different
This Oregon brewery is perhaps the smallest brewery that you will find in beer stores and bars across the country – widely scattered high-end beer stores and bars, but national nonetheless. Being national certainly hasn’t hurt them, as they get picked in more “best of” lists than almost any other... Read More
Who Likes Hot Beer?
The jury’s still out on which category malternatives fit into. Just when you think they’re yesterday’s news a new flavor comes out, or a new package, or a new positioning, and suddenly malternatives are hot again. That’s the nature of “hot”. It’s that fast-moving part of the market, whether it’s... Read More
How Does A-B Do It? On Organic Beer
Those are the opening lines from the first article I wrote on organic beer, over ten years ago. How things have changed. “Organic beer” doesn’t sound funny at all any more, any more than “organic carrots” or “organic coffee” does. The Amish, well . . . we assume that hasn’t... Read More
Beer’s Still Here
Get out of your beer rut! While the money that pays most of your bills still comes from moving those pallets, there are some real opportunities for fun – and profit – in beer these days. Heineken Premium Light has put new spark in the light beer market, Mexican beer... Read More