E-Malt.com News article: USA & UK: US beer exports at their highest value since 2002 owing to craft brands

US beer exports to the UK have increased tenfold in the past decade and are at their highest value since 2002, according to US trade data. The trend is driven in part by the rise of small craft brewers, who make stronger-tasting beers, The Financial Times reported on October 19.

The renaissance in beer brewing in the US has been nothing short of remarkable.

Small brewers promising relief from weak, mainstream lagers have moved from the realms of hobbyists to 15 per cent of the market by value in the US, according to the Brewers Association, a US trade group. There are now over 4,500 breweries in the US, more than double the number in 2004.

“The craft ale scene in the US is incredibly vibrant,” says Simon Emeny, chief executive of Fuller’s, a UK brewery. In March this year, the company became the UK distributor for Sierra Nevada, the second-largest US craft beer producer.

The UK is the third-biggest destination for US craft beer after Canada and Sweden, but as a proportion of overall UK sales it is still a niche market.

“Although it only represents 2.5 per cent of total beer sales, it has provided a degree of invigoration to the [market], with a heady combination of hype, relevance and genuine differentiation,” says Tom Lynch, commercial director at CGA Strategy, a food and drink consultancy.

The UK has its own, older, beer movement championing “real ale”, generally defined as beer that continues to ferment in the cask or bottle.

It is also distinguished by strong flavours and it lacks the artificial fizz of lagers. Camra, the UK real ale campaign group, makes it clear that much US craft beer does not meet its standards.
However, proponents of both types of beer share a disdain for mainstream beers and a sense of plucky determination against larger, better-funded brewers. “Most real ales and the US craft beer that’s coming in have literally no advertising behind them. It’s almost an underground movement,” says Colin Valentine, Camra chairman.

Craft beers have been boosted by changing drinking habits. Although the UK has a reputation for heavy drinking, the number of people who say they drink or drink frequently has been in decline since at least 2005.

At the same time, drinkers have become more discerning and willing to pay more for “premium” beers, according to Mintel, a market research company.

It is a trend that craft brewers have been keen to capitalise on, with the Brewers Association promoting the motto “Savour the Flavour”.

“Drink a little slower, maybe drink a little less, but really savour and explore the flavours you’re experiencing,” says Bob Pease, BA president.

When he began promoting US craft beers to overseas buyers in the early 2000s, they laughed at him.

“They’re not laughing now,” he says.


22 October, 2014