Off-premise dollar sales of craft beer are down -8.5%, to nearly $650.5 million, year-to-date through February 20 in multi-outlet and convenience stores tracked by market research firm IRI.
Craft’s dollar share of the overall beer category declined -0.60%, to 11.29%, through that two-month period, the firm reported.
The usual caveats still apply, with IRI only offering part of the picture of beer sales.The on-premise channel is largely open in early 2022, and craft beer over-indexes in that channel.
Half of the 30 top-selling craft beer brands increased dollar share year-to-date through February 20. Those brands include:
- Blue Moon Belgian White Ale (5.99% share, +0.32%);
- New Belgium Voodoo Ranger Imperial IPA (3.48% share, +1.04%);
- Sierra Nevada Hazy Little Thing IPA (2.39% share, +0.40%);
- Elysian Space Dust IPA (1.78% share, +0.16%);
- Firestone Walker 805 (1.57% share, +0.07%);
- New Belgium Voodoo Ranger Juicy Haze IPA (0.98% share, +0.31%);
- Lagunitas A Little Sumpin’ Sumpin’ Ale (0.98% share, +0.10%);
- Kona Big Wave Golden Ale (0.95% share; +0.20%);
- Cigar City Jai Alai IPA (0.95% share, +0.06%);
- New Belgium Voodoo Ranger Hoppy variety pack (0.65% share, +0.20%);
- Samuel Adams variety pack (+0.63% share, +0.09%);
- Sierra Nevada Big Little Thing Imperial IPA (0.62% share, +0.45%);
- Sierra Nevada seasonal (0.53% share, +0.15%);
- Wicked Weed Pernicious IPA (0.47% share, +0.13%);
- Victory Golden Monkey (0.39% share; +0.06%).
New Belgium Voodoo Ranger Imperial IPA posted the most dollar sales growth of any brand in IRI’s top 30, more than $5.3 million, increasing sales +30.8% through February 20 to more than $22.6 million. The next closest gainer was Sierra Nevada Big Little Thing Imperial IPA, which increased off-premise sales +224.7%, to more than $4 million, an increase of more than $2.8 million compared to the same period in 2021.
The New Belgium (+0.09%, to 0.94% share) and Sierra Nevada (+0.03%, to 0.80% share) brand families have both gained share through late February.
Craft brands that lost share over the first two months of 2022 include:
- Sierra Nevada Pale Ale (2.07% share, -0.09%);
- Lagunitas IPA (1.99% share; -0.06%);
- Shiner Bock (1.96% share, -0.04%);
- Samuel Adams seasonal (1.60% share, -0.01%);
- Founders All Day IPA (1.42% share, -0.12%);
- Bell’s Two Hearted Ale (1.19% share, -0.02%);
- Samuel Adams Boston Lager (1.19% share, -0.07%);
- New Belgium Fat Tire Amber Ale (1.16% share, -0.07%);
- Blue Moon Light Sky Citrus Wheat (0.96% share, -0.11%);
- New Belgium Voodoo Ranger IPA (0.86% share, -0.07%);
- Sierra Nevada Torpedo Extra IPA (0.75% share, -0.15%);
- Goose Island IPA (0.67% share, -0.13%);
- Shock Top Belgian White Ale (0.63% share, -0.20%);
- Leinenkugel’s Shandy (0.52% share, -0.07%);
- New Belgium Voodoo Ranger IPA series (0.48%, -0.06%).
Several craft brands’ off-premise sales are down more than $1 million in dollar sales through February 20 compared to last year, including:
- Blue Moon Belgian White (-$1.359 million);
- Sierra Nevada Pale Ale (-$1.87 million);
- Lagunitas IPA (-$1.6 million);
- Shiner Bock (-$1.47 million);
- Samuel Adams seasonal (-$1 million);
- Founders All Day IPA (-$1.7 million);
- Samuel Adams Boston Lager (-$1.18 million);
- New Belgium Fat Tire (-$1.16 million);
- Blue Moon Light Sky (-$1.36 million);
- New Belgium Voodoo Ranger IPA (-$1 million);
- Sierra Nevada Torpedo Extra IPA (-$1.5 million);
- Goose Island IPA (nearly -$1.4 million);
- Shock Top (-$1.8 million).
Zeroing in on craft styles, IPAs still dominate sales, growing dollar share 1.19%, to 46.44%. Although IPAs have gained share, dollar sales have declined -6.1%, to more than $302 million through February 20, down nearly $19.5 million compared to the same period in 2021. Top 10 craft styles gaining share included variety packs (+0.33%), golden ales (+0.32), and other pale lagers (+0.01%).
Of the top 25 vendors, Constellation Brands posted the largest share growth (+1.33%, to 14.86% share), while Anheuser-Busch InBev (-0.97%, to 36.98% share) and Molson Coors (-0.53%, to 17.39% share) suffered the biggest share losses. Constellation’s share gains are in large part due to the Modelo brand family, which increased its dollar share +1.2%, to 7.93% share.
Within hard seltzer, the Mark Anthony Brands’ White Claw family increased its share of beer category dollar sales +0.06%, to 4.10% share. Boston Beer Company’s Truly brand family lost -0.12% share, to 2.38% share. Both the White Claw (-2.1%, to $239 million) and Truly (-8.3%, to $137.4 million) brand families have declined in dollar sales.
Boston Beer’s fast-growing Twisted Tea brand family also continued to increase its share of the category (+0.34%, to 1.7% share). Sales of the top-selling FMB brand family are up +20.2%, to nearly $98.2 million, the firm shared.
Overall, beer category off-premise dollar sales are down -3.6%, to nearly $5.8 billion, through the first two months of 2022, according to IRI.
Five segments — imports (+1.15%), hard seltzers (+0.23%), domestic super premium (+0.35%), flavored malt beverages (+0.47%), and non-alcoholic beer (+0.11%) — gained dollar share of beer during the first two-month period of the year, according to IRI.
Of those five segments, four increased dollar sales: imports (+2.1%), domestic super premium (+0.2%), flavored malt beverages (+3.1%), and non-alcoholic beer (+16.9%). Off-premise dollar sales of hard seltzers declined -1.1% year-over-year, the firm reported.