American Craft Beer The Best Craft Beer, Breweries, Bars, Brewpubs, Beer Stores, And Restaurants Serving Serious Beer.
The thing about craft beer predictions is that many of them are so damn “predictable,” – continuations of ongoing trends that have finally reached critical mass. Much of what we expect to see this year has been brewing for a while now, but that doesn’t mean that what’s coming won’t be consequential…
Craft Beer Tourism Will Continue To Expand– More than 7 percent of craft sales (that’s by volume) now happen at the brewery. And it’s not only the locals now travelling to the source…people are increasingly building vacations around beer. It’s no surprise why state tourism agencies are courting the attention of media publications such as ours beer – tourism is HOT and savvy regions want in. When a travel website the likes of 
Travelocity partners with the Brewers Association and publishes a beer tourism index you know it’s officially arrived. Look for Ireland, the UK and Europe to become new hotspots for craft beer travel in 2017.
Beer Fads Will Have Shorter Life Spans Than Ever Before – We live in an ADHD society where the “next big thing” can disappear overnight. Remember when session IPA’s were deemed an essential addition to any brewing portfolio? Hey everyone likes new brewing variations, just not for as long as they once did. If a brewery is thinking about introducing a fruit-infused IPA in 2017, it’s already too late.
Informed Craft Beer Consumer’s Impact Grows – There are different kinds of craft beer fans – casual fans who enjoy it – and committed enthusiasts who know the industry and are passionate about the art. And there opinions about what’s exciting and valuable will determine the futures of many a brewery in 2017. It used to be that you just had to be “craft” to matter… but in today’s overwhelmingly competitive environment you’d better be great if you want to survive. And this informed segment will be a difference maker.
Craft Beer’s Price Point Will Become More Important – Premium craft beer has never been cheap but it’s clearly become more expensive. We now live in a world where it’s common to find a decent wine for under $10 dollars and harder than ever to find a quality 6-pack that sells for less than $13 bucks. 2017 will see craft beer consumers become more discriminating about how much they are willing to shell out and for what.
Things Will Get Tougher For The Independent Beer Retailer – In today’s retail industry the only players to get top deals from suppliers are large chains and box stores. We recently saw Stone’s Russian Imperial Stout being sold being sold at Costco, for three dollars less than we’d seen at our any of our neighborhood retail haunts. Independent Retailers are going to find it increasingly hard to compete on price in 2017.
More “Craft Beer First” Distributors – Wholesalers are an intrinsic part of America’s three tier system and although many states allow small independent breweries to self-distribute this can be a tedious and time consuming chore that some brewers would rather not deal with. Heritage distributors (especially those that handle Big Beer) can come with their own set of problems – and many craft brewers have had complained that artisan brands are not given proper representation. That’s why Stone created their own separate distribution company a number of years ago and why Massachusetts-based Night Shift Brewing launched its own separate distribution company in 2016. We expect to see more of this kind of thing in the coming year.
