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Much has been opined about Budweiser’s ad presence on Super Bowl Sunday, from the disappointment of no puppies, the first time presence of a craft brand in the mix, to the unsolicited Peyton-delivered product endorsements.  But it’s no doubt that Budweiser’s message of not backing down is an answer to the fierce challenge of the craft beer segment.

Two years ago we explored beverage trends, beer included, and the craft beer segment was really starting to explode.  It was at 11% of the category and growing at 18%.

And as we dive into trends and predictions for 2016 it looks like craft beer brands and brewery proliferation, are again significant trends to follow and understand.

WE’RE OPENING TWO NEW BREWERIES A DAY

In this article from bon appetit, Joshua Bernstein recaps his coverage of last year’s Great American Beer Festival and presents his trends to watch in 2016. One is the continued openings of American breweries. Apparently we’re at 4,011, the highest since 1873, right after Anheuser chose an eagle for their logo.  So back then we made and drank all of our own beer, city by city, and it was the best thing ever. Then came manufacturing and automation, so fewer breweries needed. Then there were mergers and prohibition. Post prohibition the breweries slowly came back, fueled by cans and then micro-breweries in the 80’s; and imports may have been hot for awhile, but right now America is the thing and people want local beer. It’s one of the many ways we’re demonstrating an overall desire as a culture to sustain and tend to our own communities.  

Local breweries bring a whole new kind of industry (and all kinds of local spending/dollars) to their communities.  There are jobs and revenue in the production of it and the serving of it in restaurants and bars.  They spawn events and festivals, which in turn result in tourism and entertainment dollars.  They even help local musicians thrive.  Their popularity meshes with the desire to buy and consume locally, and support local businesses.

   Rogue Farms

FARM TO KEG

This article in craftbeer.com gives us 10 trends in craft beer to look for in 2016, and one of them is farm-to-keg.  Brewers are loving the idea of growing and sourcing local ingredients to create artisan masterpieces of small batch and seasonal beers. It shows how the buy local – eat local - support local phenomenon that started out as a restaurant and food trend has now transcended into a broader sense of sustainability and community. The principle is now being applied to other categories, namely anything that can be produced locally.   It’s also wrapped up in the zeitgeist of anti-big (big banks, big corporations) and pro small (small businesses, family owned restaurants).

But there’s further peeling apart of the onion to do around farm-to.  Is the core value more about supporting community or being a good steward of the planet? One is about supporting the people around you and one is about the need to be responsible.  

I asked Chuck Kukic, CEO of Heagy Foods to weigh in.  Their company has consumers who care about buying local.  Their dairy products and deli meats are made fresh from local farmers/manufacturers and are sold in local farmers’ markets.  He says “people want honest food from people they can see and engage with.  As the food industry continues to evolve, there are so many things leading us back to rituals that are rooted in local traditions.  You are seeing a trend that is driving demand for more handcrafted products, and it was one of the biggest drivers for us to purchase Carmen & David's Creamery in Lancaster, PA; a handcrafted, small batch ice cream brand made from milk locally produced, it doesn't get any more local than that.”  

“The rituals of our ancestors are leading us back to discover that mass production has manipulated our food and beverage supply to add preservatives and chemicals that consumers are just fed up with.  If they can't pronounce it in the ingredient list, they won't buy it.  In fact, we have several of our better restaurant partners wanting just product from this area.  It is driving our go-to-market strategy right now.  Food is about nourishing not just our bodies, but also our souls.  So we are working on feeding the passions of our customer base with honest products that have honest ingredients."

So the values driving farm to keg and craft beer are also tradition and simplicity.  It’s the mindset of supporting the community and the desire to bring consumption of our food and drink back to a smaller scale.  That being said, if larger beer makers are thinking of getting in the game through acquisition, (which is what some are predicting) they would ideally want to maintain that small batches are still small, local families still run the business and local farmers supply the ingredients. Basically, this current group of Americans wants the nostalgia of town and community back and they’re not likely to settle for less. They are not backing down either.

Two more beer trend articles:

Millennials as craft beer consumers - they care about authenticity. http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/246092