Brookston Beer Bulletin

Jay R. Brooks on Beer

  • Home
  • About
  • Editorial
  • Birthdays
  • Art & Beer

Socialize

  • Dribbble
  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Flickr
  • GitHub
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Pinterest
  • RSS
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Powered by Genesis

The Secret Life Of The American Beer Buyer

January 27, 2014 By Jay Brooks

survey-analytics
Here’s an interesting survey that was just released by Survey Analytics entitled the The Secret Life Of The American Beer Buyer. They describe themselves as “an enterprise grade research platform that provides companies with feedback in over 30 industries.” Throughout the results of their “online consumer survey to capture sentiment on beer preference and purchasing habits,” they keep going back and forth between the terms “beer” and “craft beer” which seems to muddy the results somewhat. And given that results are rife with mass-produced big brewer brands I have to question the way the survey was conducted and whether it was meant to be beer or craft beer. It suggests a certain sloppiness or lack of understanding. It also points out how useless the distinction can be in practice, too. But here’s some of what the survey revealed.

  • Consumers average spend on beer annually is $1,270.00. That total amounts to about 115 six-packs at $10.99 each — or 211 pints at $6.00 a piece.
  • California brews the best beer said 19% of survey respondents. 15% of the survey respondents were from the Sunshine State.
  • Price isn’t the deciding factor for beer — only 5% of consumers take price into account when selecting a beer to purchase.
  • Advertising for beer brands is more important than ever. 33% of consumers say they associate their favorite beer brand with captivating advertising.
  • Home brewing trends continue to grow. 14% of respondents have brewed and enjoyed their own beer at home while 68% are interested in brewing lessons.

On their blog, they also created an infographic with some of the results.

craft-beer-survey-2014

And their press release offers additional insight into the findings:

Average consumer spends more than $1,200 a year on beer
Every year consumers shell out an average of $1,270 on beer. The highest reported amount was $10,000 while the lowest was just $100. Twenty-two percent of consumers buy and drink beer two to three times a week while 20 percent imbibe just once a week and 9 percent pop open a bottle more than five times per week.

Budweiser is a polarizing brand
The King of Beers managed to top the charts in both the best and worst brands of beer. Fifty-one percent of people rated it as their favorite while 46 percent named it their least favorite. The other brands that rounded out the best list: Coors (13 percent), Corona (12 percent) and Stella (10 percent). As for taste preferences, 33 percent of consumers prefer the taste of ale and 24 percent would rather have a lager.

Only 5 percent of consumers use price to determine favorite breweries
Surprisingly, a very small percentage used cost as the deciding factor for what beer they love most. What did they base their favorite brand on? Who has the best ads (32 percent), where the beer is brewed (29 percent) and what style of beer the brand makes (22 percent).

Craft beer and home-brewing trends continue to grow
Consumers don’t want to buy just any beer off the shelf — they want to invest time in creating their own brew or in learning about small microbreweries. Fourteen percent of people surveyed had brewed their own beer at home and enjoyed it while 68 percent are interested in taking craft brewing lessons from their favorite craft brands such as Dogfish Head and Breckenridge Brewery. What state shines as the best at brewing craft beer? Nineteen percent say California.

In addition, they created a couple of word clouds based on respondents most and least favorite beer brands.

Tell Us Your Favorite Beer Brand

brands-favorite-2014

Tell Us Your Least Favorite Beer Brand

brands-worst-2014

Filed Under: Beers, Just For Fun, News, Related Pleasures Tagged With: Infographics, Poll, Statistics

Beer In Film #27: The Chemistry of Beer Online Course

January 27, 2014 By Jay Brooks

brookston-film
Today’s beer video is an interview with Mark Morvant, professor of chemistry at the University of Oklahoma , by the local newspaper blog The Thirsty Beagle. Morvant is teaching a free online course on The Chemistry of Beer. The class started January 13, but apparently you can still participate and catch up if you hurry and register soon. So far, over 7,000 people have signed up for his class. Watch the video below to see if it’s for you.

Filed Under: Beers, Just For Fun, News Tagged With: Education, Science of Brewing, Video

British Beer Sales Up Two Consecutive Quarters

January 27, 2014 By Jay Brooks

brit-beer-pub-assn
Given that craft beer on this side of the pond has seen double-digit growth almost every year for over ten years, the news that sales of beer in Great Britain has shown positive growth in two consecutive quarters may not not seem like something that’s newsworthy. But this is the first time it’s happened in more than ten years, as pub closures and other factors have had troubling consequences for British beer. The latest figures, released by the British Beer & Pub Association (BBPA), show total beer sales up 0.8% in the 4th quarter of 2013, with off-trade (primarily retail) up 3.9%, although pub sales were down 2.2%.

The Morning Advertiser article also mentions the announcement concurrently that Marston’s will build a new £7 million bottling plant, which the BBPA believes translates to increased confidence on the part of British brewers. The credit for all this good news is thought to be the decision by the UK government’s Chancellor to “cut [the] Beer Duty in last year’s Budget,” meaning lower taxes on breweries. According to the BBPA’s Chief Executive, Brigid Simmonds. “These figures demonstrate that cutting beer duty helps increase beer sales, stimulates industry investment and saves jobs. We hope the Chancellor takes note and freezes beer duty in his next Budget to give a further boost to British beer and pubs.”

This is important on our side of the world because there are currently two bills before Congress with the same goal, to lower the excise tax of beer to stimulate our economy and create jobs in the brewing industry and related support industries here, too. That it appears to have worked in Great Britain is a promising development that may make it more attractive to legislators in justifying the tax cut.

facts-on-tap

Filed Under: Beers, Editorial, News, Politics & Law Tagged With: England, Great Britain, Taxes, UK

ABI To Buy Back Korea’s OB

January 20, 2014 By Jay Brooks

ob
In a strange turn of events, Anheuser-Busch InBev (ABI) has agreed to buy back the South Korean Oriental Brewery (OB) for $5.8 billion, about three times the $1.8 billion that they sold it for in 2008. OB is South Korea’s largest brewery with approximately 60% of the market.

From the press release:

KKR and Affinity Equity Partners (“Affinity”) today announced that an agreement has been entered into whereby AB InBev will reacquire Oriental Brewery (“OB”), the leading brewer in South Korea, from KKR and Affinity for 5.8 billion USD.

This agreement returns OB to the AB InBev portfolio, after AB InBev sold the company in July 2009, following the combination of InBev and Anheuser-Busch, in support of the company’s deleveraging target. AB InBev will reacquire OB earlier than July 2014, as it was originally entitled to under the 2009 transaction.

Since KKR and Affinity entered into partnership with OB in 2009, OB has grown to become the largest brewer in South Korea, driven by strong growth of the Cass brand. OB and AB InBev also remained long-term partners through OB’s exclusive license to distribute select AB InBev brands in South Korea such as Budweiser, Corona and Hoegaarden.

Carlos Brito, Chief Executive Officer of AB InBev, said, “We are excited to invest in South Korea and to be working with the Oriental Brewery team again. OB will strengthen our position in the fast-growing Asia Pacific region and will become a significant contributor to our Asia Pacific Zone.

Bloomberg Businessweek also has more on the story.

Filed Under: Breweries, News Tagged With: Anheuser-Busch InBev, Announcements, Big Brewers, International, South Korea

Nurses Know The Benefits Of Beer

January 19, 2014 By Jay Brooks

rn
I’m sure it’s because my mother was an RN, but I tend to take the advice of nurses over doctors, since they’re the ones in the trenches who deal with the patients all the time. So I was pleased to see that the National Nursing Review recognizes the Benefits of Beer. According to the nurses. “Consumed in moderation, beer is good for health. Lowers cholesterol, boosts the immune system, antioxidant and, contrary to what many people think, the beer is not fattening.” They conclude.

Many benefits for our body which are possible thanks to the vitamins of Group B, fiber, phosphorus, magnesium and minerals, containing this drink. Recall that the beer is made with natural ingredients such as water, barley and hops.

Natural ingredients, little alcohol and only 45 calories per 100 milliliters, make beer in a very beneficial for our health drink. Conclusions that have reached numerous experts, through different medical studies.

My mom would be proud.

prescription-beer

Filed Under: Beers, News, Related Pleasures Tagged With: Health & Beer

Schwarzenegger Bud Light Teaser Ads Released

January 18, 2014 By Jay Brooks

Arnie
ABI sent me a press release this morning that they’ve released teaser ads for what they’ll be airing during this year’s Super Bowl. I normally wouldn’t pay it much attention, but because of yesterday’s post Schwarzenegger To Appear In Super Bowl Ad For Bud Light I thought we should see what they’re planning for Arnie’s spot, though I think you’ll agree the two teasers don’t reveal very much, apart from the fact that time has not been kind. If you want to see the rest of what ABI has planned, the rest of the teasers are here on YouTube.

Filed Under: Beers, Just For Fun, News Tagged With: Advertising, Budweiser, Video

Schwarzenegger To Appear In Super Bowl Ad For Bud Light

January 17, 2014 By Jay Brooks

Arnie
This is almost funny. According to the New York Post, former California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has signed a $3 million deal to appear in a Super Bowl ad for Bud Light. Schwarzenegger is a longtime beer drinker, having once quipped. “Milk is for babies. When you grow up you have to drink beer.” When he first became California governor, when many called him “The Governator,” Portland Brewing even created Governator Ale. Despite him being a public figure as governor, Arnie’s legion of lawyers sued, claiming that they had engaged in “unauthorized exploitation of what they considered the governor’s right of publicity” and production ceased after only 3,200 cases of the beer was produced. I still have a bottle in my office.

governatorlabel

According to the Post article. “The former California governor has agreed to a deal to star in the humorous beer ad, despite his personal focus on health and fitness.” It won’t be the first time he’s shilled for beer companies before, having done a couple in Japan years ago, a few of which can be found on YouTube, although the quality of most of them isn’t very good. Frankly, they look more like an energy drink than a beer, but apparently an unnamed source told the Post. “Arnold has shot a series of ads in Japan but pretty much hasn’t done anything in the US.” YouTube also has a compilation claiming to show Schwarzenegger’s complete Japanese ads.

Schwarzenegger Beer Ad #1

Schwarzenegger Beer Ad #2

Schwarzenegger Beer Ad #3

Filed Under: Beers, Editorial, News Tagged With: Advertising, Humor, Super Bowl, Video

Spencer Trappist Brewery Is Bizarre?

January 17, 2014 By Jay Brooks

spencer-trappist
By now you’ve probably seen the news that the Spencer Trappist Brewery, America’s first Trappist brewery is selling beer, their Spencer Trappist Ale. I didn’t feel the need to write much about it since the news is just about everywhere, from the Boston Globe to L.A. Weekly, from NPR to CBS News.

But here’s one I don’t quite get. When ABC News, specifically the affiliate station out of Fresno, California, KFSN Channel 30, covered the story, they ran the headline US monks move into Trappist beer brewing business, but used essentially the same AP Story that most news outlets are using for this story. But ABC News also tagged the story with “Massachusetts,” which makes sense, and “bizarre,” which does not. Could somebody please explain to me what’s “bizarre” about this story? Other headlines in ABC’s bizarre topics include stories about devil babies, atomic wedgies and anal probes. But monks brewing beer, something they’ve been doing since the middle ages, possibly as early as the 6th century, is lumped in with what you’d normally only find in the pages of the Weekly World News when you’re checking out at the grocery store.

Maybe I’m overly sensitive, but that seems like beer getting a slap in the face to me. It was probably just some ignorant intern who didn’t know what to do with the story and didn’t want to have to think about it very much, and so just threw it in the catch-all category. But surely this story should have been characterized differently. Is that really too much to ask?

spencer-trappist
You can also see additional photos at their Facebook page. And below is a video of the Spencer Trappist monks from St. Joseph’s Abbey.

A day in the life of a monk at St. Joseph’s Abbey from Spencer Brewery on Vimeo.

Filed Under: Breweries, Editorial, News, Politics & Law Tagged With: Mainstream Coverage, Oddities, Trappist Beer

Number Of Breweries In America Reaches 2700

January 15, 2014 By Jay Brooks

ba
The Brewers Association released preliminary numbers for how many operating breweries there were in the United States as of the end of last year. That number, the highest since America’s peak in the 1870s, was 2,722. That’s nearly 400 more than at the end of 2012. Those are broken down as follows.

  • Regional breweries: 120
  • Microbreweries: 1376
  • Brewpubs: 1202
  • Large breweries: 24
  • Total: 2,722

From the press release:

98% of these breweries were small and independent craft breweries. It is interesting to note that 2013 marks the first year since 1987 that microbreweries outnumbered brewpubs in the country.

The total of 2,722 brewing facilities is the highest count since the US in around 140 years, more than when the country celebrated her centennial birthday. In 1876, the Register of United States Breweries lists 2,685 breweries. It is not however, the highest number of all-time, as the Register lists 3,286 in 1870.

In addition to the 2,722 brewing facilities, there were an additional 1,744 breweries in planning at the end of December, the highest year-end number in the BA database.

cbatus-breweries

Filed Under: Breweries, Just For Fun, News Tagged With: Brewers Association, Press Release, Statistics, United States

Coors Banquet Beer Puts Out Fire

January 11, 2014 By Jay Brooks

coors-orig
This is awesome news, somebody finally figured out a good use for Coors Banquet Beer. ABC News is reporting that a Texas firefighter used cans of Coors’ beer to put out a truck fire. Apparently, Houston fire captain Craig Moreau and his wife were returning home after a trip to Austin when they happened upon an 18-wheel big rig on the side of the road, on fire. The trucker and Moreau used a fire extinguisher, but it quickly ran out. They thought they got it all, but underneath the truck it was still burning, having started in the brakes but spread to a tire.

Moreau asked the trucker what his cargo was, and discovered the truck was full of cans of Coors Banquet Beer. They grabbed cans from the back, and the pair “began shaking and spraying cans of beer on the blaze, and the fire went out.”

houston-coors-fire

“I have no doubt if the beer hadn’t been there, the whole trailer would have burned up,” Moreau said. According to the Houston Chronicle’s coverage, “the tire continued to burn and eventually exploded. Fortunately, the beer worked and the blaze was eventually extinguished.” Go Banquet Beer!

CB_Heritage
A story in every can, indeed.

Filed Under: Beers, Just For Fun, News Tagged With: Coors, Humor

« Previous Page
Next Page »

Find Something

Northern California Breweries

Please consider purchasing my latest book, California Breweries North, available from Amazon, or ask for it at your local bookstore.

Recent Comments

  • Jay Brooks on Beer Birthday: Bill Owens
  • Steve 'Pudgy' De Rose on Beer Birthday: Charles Finkel
  • Steve 'Pudgy' De Rose on Beer Birthday: Bill Owens
  • Steve "Pudgy" De Rose on Beer Birthday: Pete Slosberg
  • Paul Finch on Beer Birthday: Dann Paquette

Recent Posts

  • Beer Birthday: George Wendt October 17, 2025
  • Beer In Ads #5103: Sprenger Bock Beer October 17, 2025
  • Historic Beer Birthday: Adeline Erisman Sprenger October 16, 2025
  • Historic Beer Birthday: Santiago Graf October 16, 2025
  • Beer In Ads #5102: Bock Beer — The Nutritious Tonic For The Sick, Infirm, The Convalescent And Feeble October 15, 2025

BBB Archives

Feedback

Head Quarter
This site is hosted and maintained by H25Q.dev. Any questions or comments for the webmaster can be directed here.