Mintel: 84 Percent of Craft Beer Consumers Buy Seasonally

In celebration of American Craft Beer Week (yes it’s a real thing), market research firm Mintel released a few boozy insights that shed a bit of light on today’s beer drinker.

According to a recent Mintel survey, craft beer drinkers know what they’re shopping for: 73 percent say that they know what brand they are going to buy before stepping into a retail outlet. Education is key: nearly half — 45 percent — of craft beer drinkers indicated that they would try more offerings if they ‘knew more about them.’

The survey also confirmed what most folks in the space already knew: Millennials love craft beer. 49 percent of those respondents who identified as millennial said craft beer appealed to them, compared to just 29 percent of Gen Xers. Beer drinkers aged 36-47 are slightly less likely than consumers 21-35 to “show a preference for the taste of craft beer.”

The results are by no means earth-shattering, but it certainly makes that 10 percent ABV, 100 IBU brew more quaffable from a business development standpoint. A few of the more interesting takeaways from the release are below:

  • Consumers who were of legal drinking age in 2012 are most likely to report increased consumption of beer (14 percent), which includes 7 percent of respondents who are drinking more craft beer in 2013 compared to 2012
  • Discovery of new beers is popular with 93 percent of imported beer drinkers, 88 percent of domestic fans, and 84 percent of craft beer consumers.
  • Hispanic consumers also turn to craft beer with 38 percent indicating that they consume craft beer at any time. But there’s room to grow since 58 percent of Hispanics aged 21+ report drinking domestic beer and 55 percent of Hispanics drink imported beer
  • Seasonals are big: 84 percent of craft beer consumers like to choose their beer depending on the season.
  • Liquor or package stores are the preferred outlet for craft beer purchases