Sharing a brew :
What is a craft brewery and where do they sit in the alcohol market?
There are several distinct aspects to a craft
brewing business that defines it as a specific type of brewery when measured
against the beer brewing industry as a whole. There is much debate over a
finite set of rules and guidelines for a “craft” beer in the U.K, as well as
the arguments about the use of the word “Craft”. The Brewers Association in
America defines a craft brewery as a one that has annual production of
6 million barrels of beer or less, the Brewers Association also states the
following when discussing what defines a craft brewery.
·
Craft brewers have distinctive,
individualistic approaches to connecting with their customers.
·
Craft brewers tend to be very involved in
their communities through philanthropy, product donations, volunteerism, and
sponsorship of events.
·
The hallmark of craft beer and craft
brewers is innovation
Brewers Association |
A Passionate Voice for Brewers. 2013. Brewers Association | Craft Brewer
Defined. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.brewersassociation.org. [Accessed 27 October 2013].
Perhaps the American beer industry
can lead the way in defining craft beer as it was they who were pioneers of
craft beer, stemming from the era of prohibition. By the end of the 19790’s
however there was an industry wide shrink to only forty four breweries across
the states. Twenty years later, there began a resurgence of brewing with an
annual volume growth increasing from 35% in 1991 to a high of 58% in 1995.
Brewers Association | A Passionate Voice for Brewers. 2013. Brewers Association
| History of Craft Beer. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.brewersassociation.org.
[Accessed 27 October 2013].
Regarding the definition of a craft beer in the
U. K. both the public and the industries verdict is still out, the breweries
are taking note of which side of the fence their competitors sit on and judging
the audience reaction to the the routes each brewery is taking. It is an
important time for the craft beer industry as by nature, craft breweries are
small businesses, they operate as efficiently as possible in order to survive
the economic climate. Audience opinion helps the success of breweries by being
fanatics and advocates, they are the influencers. Breweries are aware of this
and therefore plan, listen, analyse and then they can engage once more in
reply. This type of marketing works very well within the industry, however when
the general public who are not usually part and parcel to craft beer are taken
into consideration as a separate target audience graphic design could be
considered to play a role in the success of a bottle being picked up and taken
to the till.
“…they may very well be awesome beers
inside the bottle, but they’re being totally let down by the labels. On the
outside they look dated and some just plain weird and unappetizing” http://www.robot-food.com/beer-oclock/
accessed 21/10/13
Growth
of the craft brewing industry in 2012 was 15% by volume and 17% by dollars compared
to growth in 2011 of 13% by volume and 15% by dollars.
The
craft brewing sales share in 2012 was 6.5% by volume and 10.2% by dollars.
Brewers
Association | A Passionate Voice for Brewers. 2013. Brewers Association | Craft
Brewing Statistics. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.brewersassociation.org. [Accessed
27 October 2013].
The British industry is showing
similar positive growth signs also, a recent study has shown that “Industry
revenue has been forecast…to reach £8.6 billion in 2018-19.” UK beer production market to
be worth £8.6 billion by 2019 - Yahoo Finance UK. 2013. UK beer production
market to be worth £8.6 billion by 2019 - Yahoo Finance UK. [ONLINE] Available
at: http://uk.finance.yahoo.com/news/uk-beer-production-market-worth-000000498.html.
[Accessed 27 October 2013].
Over the past five
years in the UK, consumption of lager has fallen but in response to this craft
beer and real ale has grown, showing a shift from the mass produced to the
finer and smaller productions and suggesting that with the economic
climate (stats) , people have begun to seek quality
over quantity in their weekly food shops.
“A wave
of celebrity chefs…and TV healthy-living programmed have prompted the public to
ask questions about what they eat and how they should eat”. Davis,M. 2009. p146
In London
specifically, there is over 50 independent breweries which counts towards the
highest number of breweries in the UK in over 70 years.
Bill Hacket, President
of Crown imports whose brand umbrella includes Corona states that “We must
compete against “craft brands”” which shows that the premium brand is no longer
king, smaller, local and artisan craft based companies are offering alcohol in
a new way, which is appealing to consumers who are growing tired of the same
marketing tactics used by bigger brands.
As far as the general
target audience for the bigger brands were concerned, if they were told that
something is the best, they believe it, an educated niche of alcohol drinkers
has shifted the image of beer towards making it seem like the mature mans
product packaged in a lifestyle for the young professional. Emma Cole of The
Craft Beer Co based in the capital sums this point up perfectly.
“People don’t have as much money so they
go to the pub less…but when they do go out, they want something different and better
than the usual. Our clientele is aged 25 to 45, settled down but with a bit of
money to spend. They’re the kind of people who think about what they buy,
especially when it comes to food and drink.”
The rise and rise of craft beer - Food - ShortList Magazine.
2013. The rise and rise of craft beer - Food - ShortList Magazine. [ONLINE]
Available at: http://www.shortlist.com/instant-improver/food/the-rise-and-rise-of-craft-beer.
[Accessed 09 October 2013].
It is perhaps the
allure of obscure terminology and descriptions for small-scale crafted beer
that has given it appeal. Craft beer has now got a status of quality that wine
and fine scotches have been holding onto for decades.
Craft beer has built
links between all creative industries and formed communities of like minded
individuals in separate fields such as music, art and story telling. Every
month in these communities there are events and curated nights which are
supported and encouraged by the craft breweries, they automatically become part
of the creative fabric in the calendar and are able to sell beer on a bigger
scale. “Could it be that microbreweries are able to build better, more engaged
communities that their bigger, richer rivals” Unmetric Guest Blog: How
Craft Breweries Are Schooling Big Beer Brands on Social Media | Useful Social
Media . 2013. Unmetric Guest Blog: How Craft Breweries Are Schooling Big Beer
Brands on Social Media | Useful Social Media . [ONLINE] Available at: http://usefulsocialmedia.com/measurement/unmetric-guest-blog-how-craft-breweries-are-schooling-big-beer-brands-social-media.
[Accessed 09 November 2013].
Within any industry where there is considerable money
to be made, companies at both end of the financial scale will want the same
thing, to drive custom their way. The way in which companies on opposite ends
of the sector do this is different however. Greg Koch, founder and CEO of Dog
Fish Head brewery talks at length at the aims of breweries both large and small
in Brewing up a Business,
“The big companies
wish to obfuscate and confuse. It is to their advantage. http://www.brewdog.com/blog-article/defining-craft-beer accessed 21/10/13
The craft brewers wish to be open, honest and
straightforward as it is to our advantage.” http://www.brewdog.com/blog-article/defining-craft-beer accessed 21/10/13
His bias towards the smaller
brewery is obvious, he made his mark, and still does to this day in brewing at
a small scale. Interestingly though Koch predicted sales revenues of $50
million in 2011, in which Dog Fish Head became the 25th largest
brewery in the United States. Koch discuses the industrialisation and
commercialisation of beer over the past 30 or so years whereby beer has become
a low cost commodity which can be sold through creating a falsified demand for
the product. This until recently worked very well, with less than 5% of the
beer market taken by small scale brewers, with craft beer in the minds of the
working class, his comments perhaps seem most poignant,
"Craft beer…is
a revolution against the insult of the industrialized notion of beer that has
been preying on the populace for decades.” Koch, G. http://www.brewdog.com/blog-article/defining-craft-beer accessed 21/10/13
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