Beer Losing Out to Cocktails

February 19, 2016 – Beer, America’s favorite gulp since Prohibition ended, is losing its dominance to the upstart cocktail culture.  The Wall Street Journal reports that for the sixth consecutive year, in 2015 beer lost a portion of its share of alcohol revenue in the U.S.  While beer has fallen from 56% in 2000 to 48% last year, liquor has risen from 29% to 35% and wine from 16% to 17 % in the same period.

Millennials have eclectic tastes switching between the three types of alcohol, even during the same drinking occasion, say from beer to hard liquor.  As an aside, going from something lighter to the heavier stuff is not a smart move.  Remember “Beer then liquor, never been sicker. Liquor then beer, have no fear.”  There’s a good explanation here.
A couple of decades ago, liquor purveyors were dispirited to say the least.  Brown spirits were especially depressed.  But several things have contributed to the popularity and growth of cocktails.  A self-imposed ban on TV advertising by liquor companies came to an end in 1996 starting on cable and local TV.  Networks accepted liquor advertising about the same time as “Mad Men” and “Boardwalk Empire” became popular series.  Both series are credited with creating an interest in spirits.  The major corporations pushed to have liquor treated equally with beer and wine introducing spirits tasting in stores in some states.  Cocktails became vogue again as the younger generation discovered Sidecars and Manhattans and a plethora of new recipes were developed along with flavored vodkas and whiskeys.

There’s no sign of the interest in cocktails slowing down but everything goes in cycles.  Adopting the “if you can’t lick ‘em, join ’em” philosophy, brewers are bringing out successful hybrid products like Bud Lite Lime-a-Rita and Mixxtail as well as hard root beer and sodas.  Still, beer’s market share continues to decline.