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U.S. Beer Industry
Beer Categories
The market for beer in the U.S. consists of essentially three segments: domestic beers, imports, and specialty beers.
Domestic Beer
Domestic beer as a category traditionally consisted of the sub-premium, premium, and malt liquor segments. However, during the 1970s and early 1980s, competition among the leading brewing companies caused intense price competition among the major domestic brands, paving the way for a new generation of beer products – super-premium, light, "dry," and, later, "ice" beers – priced higher and designed to reclaim revenue lost during the "price wars.
Beer Imports
Rivalry from imports has never been a big factor in the beer industry. However, in recent years import sales have been growing at modest but steady single-digit rates, setting record levels. The reasons are myriad: an expanding economy, consumer interest in higher-priced beers, and more marketing weight allotted by wealthy corporate parents given the success in this category. Much of the growth in recent years was driven by growth in the leading brands. In 1994, ice beers were instrumental in growing the import category, and from 1995 through 1997 Mexican beers drove the import category. Mexican brands have been buoyed in part by the growing Hispanic culture in the United States. In addition, the explosive growth of craft brews and domestic specialties has had a positive effect on sales of imported beers.
Specialty Beer
While sales of domestic beer are expected to stagnate for the rest of the decade, the specialty beer category has been experiencing double-digit growth rates annually since 1990. Typical beer drinkers are no longer content with just run-of-the-mill products. They are demanding higher-quality items, thereby fueling the rapid growth in specialty beers. The specialty beer phenomenon comes in several guises – large breweries, regional breweries, contract brewing companies, microbreweries, and brewpubs.
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