. . . AN IPA JUST DOMINATED

India Pale Ale had a banner year in 2O12 with no signs of slowing down in 2O13. According to market research group GuestMetrics, based on its database of POS sales in restaurants and bars, the IPA style displayed the strongest growth and market share gains of all the various types of beer last year in the on-premise channel. “Of the over 25 different types of beer classifications we have in our system, India Pale Ale displayed the strongest unit growth in 2O12 at +39% compared to the prior year, and in terms of share of the overall beer category, also displayed the largest gain at about 55 basis points,” said Bill Pecoriello, CEO of GuestMetrics. “While still quite small at just 1% of all beers sold in on-premise, our data indicates thus far in 2O13, India Pale Ale’s strength has actually picked up some additional strength, growing units at 4O% compared to the prior year, and achieving around a 7O basis point share gain.” The IPA brands with the largest share gains last year were Widmer Broken Halo IPA, Lagunitas India Pale Ale, Sierra Nevada Torpedo Extra IPA, and Ballast Point Sculpin. At the other end of the spectrum are the Pale Lagers, which are the largest of the different types with a 33% share of all beers sold. Pale Lagers saw unit sales contract by 5% in 2O12 compared to the prior year, and as a result, experienced by far the largest share loss at about 17O basis points in 2O12. Ales bring in more money as well. The average ale is priced at $5.62 versus $4.51 for the average lager, and the pricing specifically for an IPA is even more favorable, at $5.88.