American Craft Beer Looks Back At 2016

With 2016 coming to its inevitable end, it’s time to open a beer, lay back and reflect on the year that was – and on where the biz is heading…so here goes.

More Breweries Than Ever Before

As of November 30^th 2016, there were an astonishing 5,005 breweries operating in the United States and we guarantee you that number has grown considerably since the Brewer’s Association made that announcement. That breaks down to more than 100 breweries per state, if you break out the numbers evenly.

But no matter how you feel about this growth, that’s a mind-blowing (and we think worrisome) number of breweries that could lead to painful consequences in 2017

Craft Beer is Now Mainstream

Remember when you had to explain to your parents or peers what craft beer was? Not anymore. Remember when Sam Adams seemed like the only craft beer company poised to compete with Big Beer? Again, not anymore.

Remember when finding a retail outlet that offered even a decent variety of different craft beer was unusual? Now it’s not only the norm, it’s become the beer rationale at most retail outlets today. Hell, you can even find craft beer at the neighborhood bodega nowadays.

The Craft Beer Biz Is Aging

If you dated craft beer back to Anchor Brewing’s humble beginnings in the late 60’s, it’s safe to say that the industry is almost five decades old and far from the vibrant youth it once was.

And with age comes changes…not all of them good.

Craft Beer Is Now A Billion Dollar Biz

Not for every brewery, but it certainly was for Ballast Point. And their $1 billion dollar sale to Constellation Brands in 2015 was a game-changer for the industry.

Suddenly craft beer’s success had been monetized to a degree that most would have never dreamed possible…And whether many in the industry would publicly admit it, that number had many brewery owners rethinking their purity as well as their futures …Fast-forward to this year.

Craft Beer Mergers And Acquisitions Becoming “The New Normal” in 2016

Well truthfully Anheuser Busch InBev has been scooping up craft beer properties ever since they acquired Goose Island in 2011.

But things really accelerated in 2015 when purchased LA’s Golden Road, Four Peaks in Arizona, Elysian in Seattle and Breckenridge in Colorado which made their purchase of the award-winning Devils Backbone in 2016 almost anticlimactic.

Once it wasn’t cool for movie stars to appear in commercials, but no longer. Once it was death for a credible craft brewery to sell out to Big Beer – let’s watch how things evolve in 2017.

The Biggest Beer Acquisition of 2016

The biggest and we think the most consequential beer acquisition of 2016 was AB InBev’s successful purchase of the world’s second biggest player, MillerCoors.   

MillerCoors, who had also been beefing up their craft beer holdings with a 50/50 partnership with Lagunitas and a majority stake in San Diego’s St. Archers (among others) was a prime acquisition target for the global giant,

The acquisition’s successful completion at the end of this year will allow AB InBev greater access to both Africa and parts of South American – as well as a combined craft beer portfolio to build upon.

Expect this paradigm shifting consolidation to change beer’s global landscape profoundly going forward – and have major repercussions on the craft beer in 2017.