BeerBoard said the 89% of locations surveyed open and pouring beer fell last weekend (jan. 5-9). It was the first time in almost a year that the open rate was below 90%. The last time was Jan. 14-17, 2021), when it checked in at 85% for that period. The rate had consistently registered at 90% or above since late January 2021.
After six consecutive reports of 20 taps per location nationally, Average Number of Taps dropped to 18 per location. Florida held firm at 19 per location, while the nine other states tracked saw a decline. Tennessee (16) dropped three handles, and Illinois (16) and New York (19) lost two handles each.
The Percentage Taps Pouring continued on a downward trend, dropping to 68%. It previously fell from 75% to 74% over the period of Dec 16-19. Each of the 10 states tracked dropped over the weekend, led by Tennessee (-16.2%), Illinois
(-11.4%) and Georgia (-11.1%).
Volume fell for the second consecutive period, down -13.6% over the weekend. It was also down -5.8% for the period of Dec 16-19. Tennessee saw the biggest decline, down 33.9%, followed by Illinois (-24.3%), New York (-20.6%) and
South Carolina -19.3%). Each of the 10 states tracked were down on the weekend.
Like Volume, Rate of Sale took a big hit on the weekend, falling -10.2%. This is the third fall in the last four reports. Tennessee (-23.7%) and New York (-14.7%) were among nine states tracked to fall on the weekend. Nevada was the only state to see an increase, albeit a nominal +0.6%.