Total beer dollar sales in off-premise retailers reached nearly $44.3 billion in 2021, according to market research firm IRI.
IRI, which tracks category-wide sales at major off-premise retailers, reported a -0.4% decline in off-premise spending compared to the same period in 2020, which ushered in massive shifts in consumer spending and behavior due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Those shifts resulted in elevated off-premise sales as consumers stocked their fridges and stayed home due to closures and restrictions in the on-premise channel.
Off-premise beer sales in 2021 increased +18.7% compared to the category’s dollar sales in 2019, according to IRI figures from that year.
Beer sales at grocery stores reached $13.5 billion, a decline -4.6% compared to 2020, when sales in the channel boomed due to fridge and pantry stocking shopping. At convenience stores, which saw decreased traffic for much of 2020 due to pandemic-driven closures, 2021 beer sales increased +2%, to $24.2 billion.
Overall, the non-alcoholic beer segment posted the strongest growth in 2021, outpacing the overall beer category at +24% with $236.4 million in sales at multi-outlet chain and convenience stores, followed by hard seltzers (+16.8%, to more than $4.5 billion), flavored malt beverages (+5.5%, to nearly $3.2 billion), imports (+4.8%, to nearly $9.3 billion), and domestic super premiums (+0.4%, to $4.1 billion).
Similar to 2020, the assorted segment posted the steepest decline, down -13% to $42.8 million, followed by domestic sub premiums (-8.3%, to nearly $5.2 billion), domestic premiums (-5.9%, to nearly $12.2 billion), craft (-4.6%, to nearly $5 billion) and cider (-2.4%, to $489.4 million).
Within grocery stores, the only segments to grow sales were hard seltzers (+6.9%, to $1.698 billion) and non-alcoholic beer (+27.6%, to $166.7 million).
Convenience stores, which saw increased traffic in 2021 without the stay-home orders that lasted for months in 2020, recorded sales growth in nearly every segment except for domestic premiums (-4.9%, to $7.22 billion), domestic sub premiums (-7.7%, to $3.35 billion), cider (-1.8%, to $144.3 million), and assorted (-56.4%, to $46,645).
One important caveat to off-premise scan data is that it only offers a portion of the picture of the year in beer. It includes distributed beer sold in off-premise retailers that include some of the country’s largest chains and big box stores. It excludes all on-premise sales, at-the-brewery sales and independent liquor stores.
Scan data offers helpful insights into sales for the nation’s largest beer manufacturers and larger trends, including consumers’ growing interest in segments such as hard seltzer and non-alcoholic beer.
Of the 25 largest brand families, 11 achieved growth in 2021, and nearly half of those were beyond beer brands. Boston Beer’s Truly Hard Seltzer brand family led the category in growth, increasing dollar sales +35.6% at multi-outlet chain and convenience stores, to $1.26 billion, followed by sister brand Twisted Tea (+31.9%, to $678 million), the New Belgium Brewing portfolio (+14.9%, to $351 million), Constellation Brands’ Modelo brand family (+14%, to $3.34 billion), Anheuser-Busch InBev’s Bud Light Seltzer brand family (+8.1%, to $407.6 million), Mark Anthony Brands’ Mike’s Harder Lemonade brand family (+6.5%, to $420 million), Heineken USA’s Dos Equis brand family (+5.7%, to $463.9 million), A-B’s Michelob brand family (+2.2%, to $3.31 billion), Diageo’s Smirnoff FMB brand family (+3%, to $474 million), Constellation’s Corona brand family (+2.2%, ot $2.84 billion) and the Heineken brand family (+0.2%, to $916 million).
Domestic sub premiums posted the steepest declines, led by Molson Coors’ Keystone brand family (-13.2%, to $428.4 million), followed by the Miller High Life brand family (-11.3%, to $400.6 million), A-B’s Natural brand family (-8.5%, to $1.34 billion) and A-B’s Busch brand family, which slightly outperformed the category with a decline of -0.3%, to $1.729 billion.
Other brand families in decline included:
- Bud, -7%, to $6.76 billion;
- Coors, -2.5%, to $2.64 billion;
- Miller Lite, -5.5%, to $2.13 billion;
- White Claw, -2.6%, to $1.933 billion;
- Bud specialty, -12.7%, to $680 million;
- Stella Artois, -3.7%, to $434.2 million;
- Yuengling, -1.3%, to $376.5 million;
- Blue Moon, -7.9%, to $370.8 million;
- Sierra Nevada, -2.5%, to $317.5 million;
- Mike’s Hard Lemonade, -1.1%, to $314.9 million.
Notably, 2021 brought about White Claw’s first year-over-year decline, as the hard seltzer segment’s velocity began to slow. In 2020, White Claw, the top-selling hard seltzer, grew sales +130.6% over 2019, to $1.973 billion. Nevertheless, its 2021 dollar sales ($1.933 billion) are still nearly 132% greater than they were in 2019.
With $16.26 billion in dollar sales, Anheuser-Busch, the world’s largest beer manufacturer and the top-selling beer manufacturer in the U.S. more than doubled the sales of its next-largest competitor, Molson Coors, which posted $7.495 billion in off-premise sales.
The top 10 largest beer category vendors maintained the same rank from 2020:
- A-B InBev, -3.9%, to $16.26 billion;
- Molson Coors, -6%, to $7.495 billion;
- Constellation Brands, +7.3%, to $6.63 billion;
- Mark Anthony Brands, +2.7%, to $2.87 billion;
- Boston Beer, +23.5%, to $2.43 billion;
- Heineken USA, +0.8%, to $1.67 billion;
- Diageo, -0.4%, to $725.6 million;
- Pabst, -10%, to $487.9 million;
- FIFCO USA, -2.7%, to $423.5 million;
- D.G. Yuengling & Son, +3.3%, to $414.4 million.
Beyond the top 10, Lion Little World Beverages-owned New Belgium (+17.7%, to $360.5 million) overtook No. 12 Sierra Nevada (-1.5%, to $322.4 million) for the 11th spot. The Geloso Beverage group (+17.1%, to $187.6 million) overtook No. 14 Heineken-owned Lagunitas (-10.4%, to $186.6 million) for the 13th spot.
Rounding out the rest of the top 25 vendors from No. 15 on are:
- Phusion Projects (Four Loko), -0.6%, to $162.7 million;
- A-B owned Craft Brew Alliance, -0.5%, to $150.6 million;
- Gambrinus (Shiner), -6.1%, to $146 million;
- Founders, -9.9%, to $128.6 million;
- Firestone Walker, +3.3%, to $121.2 million;
- CANarchy Craft Brewery Collective, -9.4%, to $115.3 million;
- Artisanal Brewing Ventures (Victory, Sixpoint, Southern Tier, Bold Rock), +0.1%, to $112.5 million;
- Bell’s Brewery, -6.4%, to $108.8 million;
- Stone Brewing, -15.5%, to $71.4 million;
- Deschutes Brewery, -6.5%, to $66.2 million;
- Brown Forman, +30.4%, to $62.8 million.
Within the craft beer segment, Molson Coors’ Blue Moon Belgian White remained by far the top-selling craft beer brand, despite an -8.5% decline in off-premise dollar sales, to around $282.1 million in multi-outlet and convenience stores tracked by IRI, which does not distinguish between Brewers Association-defined craft brands and those owned by large manufacturers.
Keep in mind that craft over-indexes in on-premise bars and restaurants and 2021’s off-premise scan data faces tough comps due to pandemic shutdowns shifting consumer purchasing to off-premise retailers. Some of that shift swung back the other way in 2021, as consumers in part began to visit the on-premise in higher numbers.
The No. 2 best-selling brand — and the top-selling IPA — of 2021 belonged to New Belgium, as Voodoo Ranger Imperial IPA increased sales 41.1%, to $131.2 million, in off-premise retailers tracked by IRI.
Five other New Belgium brands cracked IRI’s top 30 craft best-sellers list, including Fat Tire Amber Ale (-12%, to $55.8 million in sales), Voodoo Ranger IPA (-12%, to $40 million), Voodoo Ranger Juicy Haze IPA (+63.1%, to nearly $39.5 million), the Voodoo Ranger Hoppy variety pack (+115.3%, to more than $26 million), and the Voodoo Ranger IPA rotator (+0.2%, to $21.8 million).
2021 was also a good year for Boston Beer’s seasonal Samuel Adams offerings, with the SKU ranking as the third best-selling craft offering of the year (+0.4%, to more than $107 million). Long-time flagship offering Samuel Adams Boston Lager shed some of the off-premise growth it found in 2020, declining -9%, to $55.8 million. The Samuel Adams variety pack, however, picked up sales +12.4%, to $34.4 million.
Sierra Nevada’s Hazy Little Thing IPA (+10.4%, to nearly $104 million) has overtaken Pale Ale (-11.7%, to $99.3 million) as the company’s top selling off-premise brand. Pale Ale tumbled from the No. 2 selling craft brand in 2020 to No. 5 in 2021. Sierra Nevada’s Torpedo Extra IPA (-20.7%, to around $37.7 million) and its seasonal offerings (-7.4%, to $22 million) both declined, while Big Little Thing Imperial IPA recorded nearly $20 million in sales.
The rest of the top-10-selling craft brands posted year-over-year declines: Shiner Bock (-7.1%, to $95.2 million), Lagunitas IPA (-12%, to $92.8 million), Leinenkugel’s Shandy (-4.5%, to $87.8 million), A-B’s Elysian Space Dust IPA (-2.4%, to $77.1 million), and Founders All Day IPA (-11.9%, to $74.7 million).
Against those tough comps, craft growth brands of years past fell short. Firestone Walker 805 (-11.5%, to $73.6 million), Bell’s Two Hearted Ale (-2.1%, to $56.8 million), CANarchy’s Cigar City Jai Alai IPA (-3.7%, to $40.6 million), and Bell’s seasonal offerings (-19%, to around $22.3 million) each declined year-over-year against those pandemic comps.
Craft brands from major manufacturers found growth in 2021, including Molson Coors’ Blue Moon line extension Light Sky (+23.5%, to $60.3 million), A-B’s Kona Big Wave Golden Ale (+18.5%, to $45.4 million), A-B’s Wicked Weed Pernicious IPA (+73.9%, to $18.6 million), and Heineken-owned Lagunitas’ Little Sumpin Sumpin Ale (+7.5%, to $43.2 million). Meanwhile, A-B’s Shock Top Belgian White continued its freefall, declining -30.7%, to $36.5 million, and Goose Island IPA declined -17.2%, to around $34.7 million.
Although craft overall declined -4.6% ($4.992 billion) in 2021, those declines were due to a -7.5% decrease in sales at food stores, to $2.8 billion. That points to the 2020 stock up — and consumers spreading those sales out as the country and the on-premise reopened. The top 10 selling brands in food stores in 2021, in order, were:
- Blue Moon Belgian White (-9.7%)
- Samuel Adams Seasonal (+1.4%)
- Sierra Nevada Pale Ale (-10%)
- Leinenkugel’s Shandy (-4.1%
- New Belgium Voodoo Ranger Imperial IPA (+19%)
- Sierra Nevada Hazy Little Thing IPA (-4.1%)
- Lagunitas IPA (-14.9%)
- Founders All Day IPA (-16.5%)
- Shiner Bock (-6.6%)
- New Belgium Fat Tire Amber Ale (-9.4%)
In another sign of increased mobility, craft eked out 0.6% growth in c-stores, to more than $1.6 billion, in 2021, IRI reported. The top 10 selling brands in c-stores, in order, were:
- Blue Moon Belgian White (-6.8%)
- New Belgium Voodoo Ranger Imperial IPA (+63.4%)
- Sierra Nevada Hazy Little Thing IPA (+24.9%)
- Elysian Space Dust IPA (+5.1%)
- Shiner Bock (-8.6%)
- Lagunitas IPA (-6.2%)
- Sierra Nevada Pale Ale (-9.9%)
- Firestone Walker 805 (-2%)
- Founders All Day IPA (-4.7%)
- Leinenkugel’s Shandy (-4.6%)
Although IPAs remained far and away the top craft beer style, they declined -1%, to $2.15 billion in sales, in 2021. Even with the decline in off-premise sales, IPAs increased their share of craft sales to 40.55% (+1.42%).
In fact, only golden ales (+3.8%, to nearly $225.5 million) increased sales among the top 10 craft styles last year. Seasonals (-6.6%), Belgian wits (-8.4%), variety (-1%), pale ales (-12.5%), fruit/veggie/spiced (-13.5%), pale lagers (-6%), bocks (-7.3%), and amber ales (-10.8%) all declined.