Beer Blues & Other News

United States
Beer Consumption Declines While Wine and Spirits Trend Upward.

A recent survey by Gallup confirms what major beer producer know – Americans are drinking less beer every year since 1992. Of drinkers surveyed, beer was still the first choice of an alcoholic beverage (36%) but its lead over wine as the beverage of choice has slipped 20%. Wine is now the preferred drink for 35% of drinkers. Spirits account for 23%, which is only slightly ahead of where it was 20 years ago.

In the early 90s, 71% of 18 to 29 year olds chose beer as their favorite beverage. That number is now 41% while wine has increased by 10 points and liquor by 15.

The survey didn’t break down types of beer but other statistics show the trend away from the large producers to craft beers.

Russia
Beer Makers Are Crying the Blues

For some of the world’s largest brewing companies, Russia looked like a really good bet for expansion. And so it was until 2009 when things began to change. Previously, beer wasn’t even considered an alcoholic beverage and according to a story in the Wall Street Journal, it was unregulated and often cheaper than a soft drink. But in 2009, then president Vladimir Putin declared war on alcohol abuse. He introduced a plan to reduce alcohol consumption by half by 2020. Deaths due to alcoholism are extremely high in Russia being the cause of death for one in five Russian men.

Putin’s successor, Dmitry Medvedev instigated tough restrictions on the time and place of beer sales as well as an advertising ban. The addition of ever increasing excise taxes has resulted in making beer more expensive at retail. Consequently, sales have dropped about 20%.

For conglomerates such as Anheuser-Busch InBev, SABMiller, Carlsberg, Heineken and so on, the beer future looks flat. Will government controls open the door for sales of home brewing kits? That’s something to ponder.

Japan
Creativity Knows No Taste Bounds

“I’ll have a blueberry pint on the rocks, please.” That is not as bizarre as it sounds if you happen to be in Tokyo. Like beer marketers across the globe, Japan’s major beer makers, Asahi Breweries and Kirin Brewery, are watching their beer go flat. Hence beer flavored with blueberry liqueur, pineapple, grapefruit or even tomato juice is the summer sales promotion. There’s also a technique for freezing the foam of draft beer and serving on top of a glass so that it looks like soft ice cream. Women are especially fond of the sweetened drinks since the bitterness is reduced. Actually, it is not so revolutionary considering that shandies have been around since the 18th century. Considered a refreshing summer time libation, a shandy is a mixture of beer with lemonade or ginger beer, ginger ale or even apple juice. Just so you know, if you mix beer and hard cider, it’s called a snakebite.

Create something wild and fanciful at home and if it works, send us the recipe and we’ll print it. You could start a new craze.