USA: Craft beer sales estimated to be up almost 9% from the beginning of the year through May 15

After experiencing incredible growth in recent years, there are reports that sales of craft beers are slowing in 2016, Seeking Alpha reported on July 11.

After 19% growth in 2014 and 13% growth by volume in 2015, research firm IRI Worldwide reported that craft beer sales are up 6.5% by volume so far this year.

Bart Wilson, chief economist for the industry trade group The Brewer's Association, says that part of the lower figure is due to how market data is gathered. For instance, IRI includes Blue Moon and Shock Top beers in their calculations. These beers are owned by Coors and Anheuser-Busch InBev, which are a far cry from craft brewers. Excluding those types of brewers, the number climbs to 8.9% growth through May 15. Still, according to Wilson, "If it's 6 percent or 10 percent, that's a number that many industries in the U.S. economy would kill for."

Some big brewers, namely The Boston Beer Company, have seen sales dampened by the emergence of hundreds of new small craft brewers. In general, the maker of Sam Adams beer and Angry Orchard cider is regarded as a founder of the craft brew movement and the biggest craft beer maker in the world with its roots in the space going back 30 years. However, the total number of U.S. beer makers rising from about 100 in the early 1980s to more than 4,200 in 2015 has fragmented the space and is now cutting into Boston Beer's growth.

11 July, 2016