Change is Good
"As consumer tastes change and rising costs for ingredients pinch their profits, the nation's biggest brewers are looking for relief in consolidation. No. 1 Anheuser-Busch is being taken over by Belgian beverage giant InBev SA. No. 2 Miller Brewing Co. and No. 3 Molson Coors Brewing Co. are combining U.S. operations.
Meanwhile, craft brewers are grabbing more of the market as they reshape the image of beer. They posted 17.1 percent growth last year over 2006 and accounted for 6.5 percent of the $9 billion in supermarket sales of beer in the U.S., up from 4.5 percent in 2003. Many in the craft beer industry expect their products to continue tugging at "premium" beers' share of a market valued at $95 billion, including sales in bars and restaurants."
This trend is not going to stop anytime soon. Too many people want more out beer than fizzy yellow water. There will always be that stuff for those who want it, but in ten years craft brews and high-quality imports are going to have eaten cheap lager's lunch in market share. Don't get me wrong, I love my PBR, Yuengling, and Rolling Rock when the time is right. But the trend towards more and different beers reflects a refining of the American beer palate.
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