New Years 2017 Craft Beer Blast

Craft Beer Blast

New Years 2017

From Larry...

Craft Beer in 2017

The craft beer industry has been on a phenomenal expansion over the last ten years. In 2006 there were just over 1400 breweries in the US. Today there are over 5000 with more in the planning stages. There have been acquisitions, mergers and partnerships formed in the last few years. Although most of these newer breweries will be primarily local, are there enough beer drinkers to consume the additional quantity of beer being produced? Will the breweries take each others business?

One of the latest trends is small producers brewing light lagers similar to the big guys. Since over 45% of the US market is light lager there is room for growth there. The big three (Bud, Miller, Coors) could lose market share as people move to local producers, if the quality is there. Of course, the big three already are into the craft market.

Craft beer is considered an "affordable luxury", so growth will continue. It remains to be seen just how much that growth will be. Younger drinkers having grown up on craft beer will 'move up' to premium brands and styles (high end IPA's, barrel aged styles and limited release brews). As always, it will be important to bring new consumers to the table. Education on the product and its background will be helpful in raising interest in the wide variety of brews now available. I expect the growth of the industry to continue in 2017 and beyond. It won't be as robust as the last few years but it will still be impressive compared to other consumer product categories. For more on the craft beer industry's 2017 outlook click HERE.

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The "Style of the Season" is Baltic-Style Porter. This style is the perfect winter beer. Dark and roasty with high ABV, it is perfect for drinking around a fire. Originally from the cold Baltic states, even the weather influenced the development of this style.

Happy New Year to all, and may 2017 be the best year yet! Enjoy and support your local breweries as they are now within a few miles of most US residents.

Cheers,

Larry

Style of the Season: Baltic-Style Porter

Baltic-Style Porter is a 'stronger' or imperial version of the famous British porters of London. When exporting to the areas around the Baltic sea, many of the brews that were shipped were stronger in ABV, in order to survive the shipping. After many years the people of these areas began to make their own brews using local methods. London porters are ales (top or warm fermented) and their Baltic brethren are usually lagers. (bottom or cold fermented). The countries around the Baltic sea were influenced by German brewing methods which developed over years and are usually lagers. The tastes and aromas are of caramelized sugars, licorice and chocolate like notes from the roasted malts. The beer is usually ruby red to opaque black in color. A Baltic Porter often has the malt flavors reminiscent of an English brown porter and the restrained roast of a schwarzbier, but with a higher alcohol content. It is very complex, with multi-layered flavors.

Wynwood Brewing Sells Stake to CBA

Wynwood Brewing, Miami's first production brewery, has sold a minority stake to the Craft Brewers Alliance. (CBA). Two of their most popular brews will be made in CBA's Portsmouth, NH brewery in spring 2017. This will enable them to produce a wider variety of beer styles locally. Read the entire article from the Miami Herald HERE.

Jupiter Craft Brewers Festival


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On January 27 and 28, one of South Florida's favorite beer events is happening in Jupiter. It offers many craft beers in a fun, relaxed setting. The Field of Beers, on Friday evening, has 16 brewers paired with 16 varied food stations. The festival on Saturday afternoon, now in it's 11th year, has many local breweries with special brews for the event. The Field of Beers is sold out and festival tickets are still available at the festival website; just click on the logo to the left.

Local Festivals

Funky Buddha Brewery has its annual Maple Bacon Coffee Porter Festival on January 14 from 1-5. This is a release party for the MBCP and a full beer festival as well. There will be over 100 brews from Florida and beyond. Of course the MBCP will be available with your ticket or at the festival. For more visit the MBCP fest site.

J Wakefield Brewery
celebrates their 2nd anniversary with Wake Fest 2017 on February 16 from 12 - 5. With over 25 JWB brews on draft and 70 plus breweries this should be a great celebration. Unlimited pours, food trucks and live music all included. For tickets and more details visit the JWB events page.

South Fla Beer Week

The week of January 21 - 28 will be SFBW for 2017. There will be events all week leading up to the Jupiter festivals. There isn't much event info yet, Stay tuned to the SFBW blog in early January.

Good Beer Styles

The folks at Business Insider created a chart to help explain the major beer styles. View it HERE.

Sales by Style

2016 US craft beer sales broken down by style. Read more from the Beer Connoisseur Magazine article.

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