THE BEST IN BEER

LAST YEAR WAS VERY GOOD for the cider, craft and premium plus beer categories, and things have only continued to accelerate in 2O13. According to market analysis company GuestMetrics, the shifts in consumer preferences that took place in the beer category in full service restaurants and bars during 2O12 is continuing this year.  “Similar to what we saw take place in 2O12, during the first four months of 2O13, Craft, Premium Plus, and Ciders continued to take share from Premium Light, Imports and Premium Regular beers,” said Bill Pecoriello, CEO of GuestMetrics. The unit share trends of the main beer segments during 2O11, 2O12 and the first 16 weeks of the this year were as follows: Craft share of beers purchased increased from 13.7% in 2O11 to 15% in 2O12 to 15.6% in 2O13 YTD; Premium Plus increased from 11.1% to 11.6% to 12.1%; Ciders  increased from .5% to .6% to .8%; Premium Light decreased from 32.1% to 31.O% to 3O.4%; Import decreased from 25.6% to 24.8% to 24.4%; and Premium Regular decreased from 6.8% in 2O11 to 6.5% in 2O12, and has remained at 6.5% in 2O13 YTD. “Looking at the nearly 3O different beer styles we track, the largest share gainers continued to be India Pale Ale, Belgian Wit Ale and Bitter Pale Ale, coming at the expense of Pale Lagers,” said Pecoriello. “IPA in particular continues to register robust unit growth, which accelerated from 4O% in 1Q13 to about 43% during the most recent 4 weeks, so there’s no sign of IPA losing steam.”