Beer

Hard seltzer has driven the beer market for several years and shows no sign of slowing down . The hard category is expanding beyond seltzer ; hard iced tea , hard lemonade , hard kombucha , hard cold brew — and more variations to come .

White Claw and Truly led the charge , with proliferating flavors , and now premium versions which up the ABV . Virtually all the major commercial beer players have since jumped on the hard seltzer bandwagon , often with several entrants .

AB In-Bev launched Bud Light Seltzer last year , for example , and recently added Hard Iced Tea Apple to the lineup . The Corona brand boasts Hard Seltzer Limonada in four flavors and Dos Equis debuted Ranch Water Hard Seltzer .

Unsurprisingly , craft brewers entered this arena with artisanal products . Brooklyn Brewery , Evil Twin , Stone Brewing , Two Roads , Threes , Oskar Blues — to name just a few .

Overall , the field Stone Brewing is getting crowded , and industry launched Buenavida observers question how much seltzers are cannibalizing beer sales .

July 2021 .

Hard Seltzer in

Some predict a shakeout coming .

Drizly pegs hard seltzers as accounting for 23 % of beer share in 2021 to date . The fastest-growing beer subcategories include hard kombucha , and hard iced tea . The number of hard seltzer SKUs in its catalog has more than doubled year over year , up 114 % in 2021 to date , compared to the same time period in 2020 .

At Applejack Wine & Spirits , “ Hard seltzers continue to be a huge chunk of sales , with new versions and flavors seemingly every week ,” says Ian Hanson , beer manager for the Denver-based retailer . “ I don ’ t know if I ’ d say they are affecting beer sales negatively , though I imagine some of the share has to come from beer . However , I feel they are mostly different customers with crossover between the two categories .”

In general hard seltzers do cannibalize some macro sales and a bit of micro sales as well , and even some cider sales ,” says Jason Daniels , chief operating officer of retailer Half Time Beverage , in Mamaroneck , NY . He notes that White Claw and Truly are selling faster than other hard seltzer brands , and that the category overall isn ’ t moving as fast as it once did , perhaps due to increased competition for shelf space . “ I ’ ve been hearing reports that by fall or winter we might see a graveyard of fallen seltzer brands .”— THS light lager ( 19 % share ). Tantum notes that IPA share is down slightly from 18 % during the same time period in 2020 .

CONTENDERS WAITING IN THE WINGS Is there any beer style that can supplant IPAs ’ popularity ? Many people would vote lagers , and put their money where their mouth is . After all , the three top-selling beer brands globally are all lagers .

“ My crystal ball is not always right but if I were to predict , I think people are becoming more interested in cleaner , approachable styles , like pilsners and lagers ,” says Daniels .

“ McGillin ’ s House Lager outsells our House Ale 3 to 1 !” says Mullins . ( The tavern ’ s house lager , real ale and 1850 IPA are exclusive to McGillin ’ s in partnership with Troegs Brewery .) Mullins also sees potential in sour beers , now offering two or three on tap at any given time . “ I think pilsners have a shot at being the next big thing — quaffable , easy to drink and you can enjoy many at one sitting !”

Belgian Abbey style beers trend in warmer summer months , suggests Stanton at Henley . “ Those beers can be light and refreshing , but with interesting complexity and subtle fruit notes owing to the different strains of yeast . He notes positive guest feedback about Wildwood Flower , a Belgian-style honey blonde , from Tennessee Brew Works .

“ There have been a few ‘ new ’ styles ( Brut IPAs come to mind ) in the past couple of years that breweries tried to get behind , but weren ’ t able to gain or maintain the fervor of hazy IPAs ,” says Hanson , noting that beer trends seem to pendulum . “ Several years ago , bitter dank IPAs and seriously funky sours were king . Tastes then shifted to hazy , juicy IPAs , pastry stouts and tart and fruity-yet-approachable sours . The pendulum may swing back as drinkers recall old familiar styles .”

LOW / NO-ABV IS A GO Low- and no-alcohol beers have been around for ages , getting little trial from consumers , and often derided as watery or not tasting like “ real ” beer . But that is changing , thanks to a confluence of factors , including increasing interest in health consciousness and a craft approach to noand low-ABV products .

Heineken ’ s 0.0 led the current no-ABV charge , and Suntory now offers All-Free . Dogfish Head recently launched Lemon Quest non-alcoholic brew , and Brooklyn Brewery released Special Effects IPA , also non-alcoholic , to name just a few . Partake Brewing , a craft producer specializing in no-ABV , recently greatly expanded its distribution network .

“ There has been a noticeable increase in non-alcoholic sales , though it is tough to say if that is due to a change in preference or just to the more numerous offerings now ,” says Hanson . “ Non-alcohol products across the board have become quite popular , with numerous ‘ artisan ’ offerings coming to market . Consumers have responded favorably , and so I anticipate that category will continue to grow .”

The fastest-growing beer subcategories in 2021 to date on Drizly are non-alcoholic beer , hard kombucha and hard iced tea , “ Our 2021 Consumer Report , found that health factors are a key decision-maker consumers consider when making alcohol purchases — a trend which can be seen across our fastest-growing beer subcategories , all of which market health benefits like lower-calorie , lower-sugar , lower / no ABV and more ,” says Tantum .

The Publican currently offers a Krombacher Pils NA and Big Drop Pale Ale . “ When presented with those options , guests are usually excited and

24 Beverage Dynamics • September / October 2021 www . beveragedynamics . com