Australia: Craft beer industry grew by about 40% last year

While Australia’s beer consumption on the whole is at its lowest point in more than a half century, the craft beer market is booming and changing the way the industry targets consumers, CCTV-America reported on February 19.

Inside an old warehouse on Sydney’s west side you’ll find two men carefully crafting a business.
“It’s very hands on, its very tactile. I think in some ways its an art form,” said Pat McInerney.

They’re using old dairy equipment to brew a line of beers marketed under the name Willie the Boatman.

They entered the nation’s craft beer market just 9 months ago and the timing couldn’t be better.

“The beer industry in Australia at the moment is pretty much going through a number of changes,” said McInerney.

Beer consumption nationally is at a 65 year low in a country where beer has long been a part of the culture. Sales for major producers is shrinking at about 6 percent a year, but one segment of the industry is growing by about 40 percent last year alone. The sale of craft beers.

“The wine industry has probably helped up in that people started to get discerning about wine and now people are feeling they can do the same with beer,” said Nick Newey of Willie The Boatman.

It’s more than just a trend. The Australian Craft Brewers association says in the last decade the number of craft brewers has grown to more than 200. The industry is now worth an estimated A$124 million a year.

20 February, 2015