CPI for Beer At-Home +9% in January vs. 2022
The Consumer Price Index (CPI) for beer at-home continues to outpace inflation, increasing +9% last month versus January 2022, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).
Beer price hikes have yet to slow down, increasing +8.6% year-over-year (YoY) in December, +7.7% in November and 6% in October. Beer at-home’s January CPI also increased +0.3% versus December 2022.
The increase comes as the CPI for all items increased +6.4%, the “smallest 12-month increase since the period ending October 2021,” according to the BLS.
Beer continues to outpace spirits (+2.4% YoY) and wine (+3.3% YoY) at home. Spirits increased +0.2% in January versus December (not seasonally adjusted), while wine increased +0.5%. The CPI for all alcoholic beverages at home increased +5.3% YoY and +0.5% versus December.
Away from home, Beer’s CPI increased +5.8% YoY and +0.6% month-over-month (MoM). Wine (+7.8% YoY, +0.4% MoM) and spirits (+6.9% YoY, +0.3% MoM) each recorded larger price hikes in the on-premise channel. Total alcoholic beverages away from home increased +6.9% YoY and +0.6% MoM.
Report: Sheehan to Sell Craft New Hampshire to A-B Wholesalers
Sheehan Family Companies plans to sell its Craft New Hampshire business to the Granite State’s other two Anheuser-Busch houses, Bellavance Beverage Co. and New Hampshire Distributors, according to a report in Beer Marketer’s Insights (BMI).
The deal includes more than 300,000 cases. Craft New Hampshire’s portfolio includes national craft brands such as Lagunitas, Stone, Three Floyds, Bell’s, CANarchy, Left Hand and Golden Road; and regional offerings from Bunker Brewing, Bronx Brewing and Captain Lawrence. Its largest suppliers are Downeast Cider, Athletic Brewing, Maine Beer and Burlington Beer, according to BMI.
The successor wholesalers will not be picking up every brand from Craft New Hampshire’s book, which may leave some suppliers in need of distribution. The transition is slated for March 15, according to a source with knowledge of the transaction.
In November, Sheehan sold Craft Maine to three A-B wholesalers in the state. The company has 15 remaining wholesalers in 10 states and Washington, D.C., according to its website.
Craft New Hampshire, Bellavance and New Hampshire Distributors did not return requests for comment.
Stoudts Brewing Co-Founder Ed Stoudt Dies at 82
Ed Stoudt, who co-founded pioneering Pennsylvania craft brewery Stoudts Brewing with his wife Carol Stoudt, died last week at 82, Lancaster Online reported.
The Stoudts opened their first hospitality venture, Stoudt’s Country Kitchen, in Adamstown, Pennsylvania, in 1962, which spawned a local empire that grew to include Stoudts Brewing, Stoudts Black Angus Restaurant, an antique store, a beer garden, a bakery and a German-themed village.
Carol Stoudt took the reins of the brewery as its brewmaster, which opened in 1987, and became a leader in the then-fledgling craft beer industry. The brewery shut down in February 2020, and Stoudts Black Angus Restaurant closed in March 2020. The Stoudts retired and moved to Vermont in 2021, according to Lancaster Online.
“My husband was one of a kind who loved and lived life to the fullest,” Carol Stoudt told the publication.
Stoudts’ beer lives on under a licensing agreement with Philadelphia-based Evil Genius, which produces and distributes the beer in Pennsylvania.
BI’s Danelle Kosmal Adds Context to Spirits Industry’s Market Share Claims
The Distilled Spirits Council of the United States (DISCUS) shared last week that spirits sales overtook beer in 2022. However, Danelle Kosmal, Beer Institute (BI) VP of research, is cautioning industry members that further context is needed with the numbers.
Spirits increased “market share of the total U.S. beverage alcohol market” to 42.1% in 2022, marking “the first time spirits supplier revenues have surpassed beer,” which had a 41.9% share, DISCUS shared during its annual economic briefing last week.
“The TTB and the beer industry haven’t finalized reporting yet for beer/malt-based volume for 2022,” Kosmal said. “So, I find it curious that there are already reports of share across categories when the beer/malt category volume – which is obviously an important category in determining the total size of the alcohol pie – has yet to be finalized.”
Spirits’ 42.1% share is actually spirits’ “share of throat” – the volume share of pure alcohol servings in the U.S. – according to financial services firm Jefferies. Analysts said there is “favorable runway for continued share of throat gains” for spirits, with the category “accounting for 13 drinks out of 46 per month,” according to the company’s own estimates.
In 2021, beer maintained its title of “America’s favorite alcohol beverage,” with a 46% share of ethanol in the U.S., versus hard liquor’s 38% share, according to Kosmal. While the spirits category “has been growing,” Kosmal said “it is extremely unlikely” that the category grew enough in one year to close the 8% gap.
A September 2022 Harris Poll noted similar trends, with 40% of respondents claiming they drink beer monthly, followed by wine (38%) and spirits (37%).
What is more likely is that hard liquor surpassed beer in dollar share in 2022, which is more indicative of spirits’ higher prices on average compared to beer and the growth of premium products, Kosmal said. High-end spirits bottles priced at $100 or more grew more than 30% in 2022, she noted, citing a SipSource report by Wine & Spirits Wholesalers of America (WSWA)
“With luxury brand products growing at such rapid paces, it is not surprising that hard liquor is gaining more ground in dollar growth and share,” Kosmal said. “It’s hard for a $10 6-pack of beer to compete in dollar share with the $100 bottle of luxury tequila.”
“It’s important to consider the context of their claims,” BI president and CEO Brian Crawford said in a statement last week. “If the liquor industry is making more money simply because they are charging a higher premium for their products, it’s not a true reflection of its market success.”
Despite the share debate, spirits undoubtedly experienced more growth than beer in 2022, with spirits supplier sales increasing +5.1% year-over-year (YoY) to a record total of $37.6 billion, while the category’s volume increased +4.8%, according to DISCUS. In off-premise channels, spirits sales volume increased +2%.
Comparatively, beer dollar sales increased +0.8% YoY in multi-outlet plus convenience channels (through January 1), while volume declined -4.8%, according to the market research firm IRI.