The December Consumer Price Index (CPI) for beer at home increased +1.9% year-over-year (YoY), with the category ending 2023 below overall inflation, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The CPI for all items increased +3.4% YoY on a seasonally unadjusted basis, accelerating slightly with a +0.3% month-over-month (MoM) increase on a seasonally adjusted basis versus a +0.1% MoM increase in November.
Last month, Brewers Association chief economist Bart Watson predicted that beer inflation would drop in December as the CPI starts to catch up with scan data. He was proven correct, as December’s reading was below the November CPI of 2.7%. On a seasonally adjusted basis, beer at home was up +0.3% MoM.
The rise and fall of beer inflation over the past two years. pic.twitter.com/eUwu70ZQsE
— Bart Watson (@BrewersStats) January 11, 2024
Watson also shared the above graph on Twitter/X showing beer inflation trends in 2022 versus 2023.
Still, beer at home was above the CPI for total bev-alc at home, which increased +1.2% YoY on a seasonally unadjusted basis. Spirits at home (+0.8%) and wine at home (+0.7%) were also below beer.
Away from home, bev-alc outpaced overall inflation, increasing +4.6% YoY. Spirits away from home recorded the largest increase (+5.2%), decreasing -1% versus last month’s reading, but increasing +0.4% on a seasonally adjusted basis.
Beer away from home increased +4.8%, below the +5.2% YoY increase recorded in November, and flat MoM when seasonally adjusted. Wine increased +4.5%, following a +5.6% YoY November increase (-0.1% MoM when seasonally adjusted).
Overall, bev-alc increased +1.2% in December 2023 versus December 2022.