We don’t want to say beer’s decade-long slump is over. Not yet.
But Beer Institute estimates U.S. brewers shipped 13.55 million barrels, a 4.7% increase from taxable removals of 12.94 million barrels in December 2018.
For all of 2019, domestic beer shipments fell 1.38 million barrels. That’s a 0.8% decrease. Domestic shipments fell in seven of the year’s 12 months, most disturbingly during June, July and August – the months beer is thought to be strongest. In those months, U.S. beer shipments were down 2.15 million barrels.
You can blame the usual suspects: Spirits advertising on TV, Gen X-ers preferring wine or water to beer, etc. All that’s true.
But this is also true: Beer shipments rose in five of the 12 months last year, and they rose enough that beer recorded a shipment decline of 0.8%. That’s a lot better than the 2% or more declines we saw for several years.
We continue to believe this is generational. Thirty years ago, brown spirits were at the bottom. Today, spirits in general, and especially brown spirits, are riding high. Beer’s time back in the sun is coming.