Makers, sellers and drinkers of craft beer can toast another great year in 2005, as that segment of the alcoholic beverage market enjoyed another boom.

America’s craft brewers sold 9 percent more barrels in 2005 than in 2004, according to the Brewers Association, which boasts that statistic shows craft beer is the fastest-growing segment for the second consecutive year.

The Boulder, Colo.-based trade association for U.S. craft brewers said their volume growth — from 6,526,809 (31-gallon) barrels to 7,112,886 barrels — far exceeded that of large brewers, wine- and spirits-makers.

Spirits volume increased at 3.3 percent in 2005 and wine volume, 2.9 percent, according to the brewers association. The import beer segment rose 7.2 percent while non-craft domestic beer volume dropped slightly for the year.

Domestic brewers still dominate, as craft beer still represents only about 3.5 percent of the U.S. market, but this is the 36th straight year craft has grown.

The association represents 1,300-plus small and independent breweries and brewpubs that produce mostly all-malt brews. Last year, it reported 7.2 percent growth (vs. 2.7 percent for wine, 3.1 percent for spirits, 1.4 percent for imported beer and 0.5 percent for domestic beer).

“Consumer enjoyment of the flavor and diversity of craft beer continues to fuel healthy, steady growth in this segment,” says Ray Daniels, the association’s marketing spokesman. “Small brewers lead the entire industry by offering flavorful, interesting beers.”

One local craft brewer, Penn Brewery’s Tom Pastorius, sums it up as good taste means good sales.

His were up about 7 percent over 2004. “All these years of trying to educate the consumer about craft beer (what is it and how it is better) are starting to pay off,” says the guy who was at the forefront of the movement when he opened in 1986. “We just now are getting the young drinker coming of age that has heard about craft beer all his life.”

Increasingly, he’s watching large brewers such as Anheuser-Busch selling new brews to capture more people’s tastes.

“I think this means we have potential for more growth,” Mr. Pastorius says. “There are still a few people out there that haven’t tried our beer.”

Source: post-gazette.com

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