Premium Craft?
In the midst of this relaxing and ruminative week, I am spending most of my time away from the computer and internet. Of all the weeks of the year, this one offers the most opportunity for corporeal human contact and I'm taking advantage. For you digital types, here's the post of the week: Pete Dunlop on the increasing stratification of the craft beer segment:
There's nothing new about stratification in the beer industry. It dates as least as far back as the 1950s, when heavy advertising split macro brews into premium and popularly-priced brands....Also, for those of you looking for that corporeal contact, I highly recommend Roscoe's 7th Anniversary Summit, beginning at 2pm tomorrow. Lots of special beers plus that lovely laid-back Montavilla vibe. 8105 SE Stark, Portland.
Not that long ago, you could walk into your favorite bottleshop and be pressed to find more than a few $10 bottles of beer. Try that today. You'll have no trouble finding bottles priced at $10 or more. In fact, you'll find plenty of $20 bottles, largely unheard of a few years ago. This reality is supported by Brewers Association numbers, which show that craft beer dollar growth exceeded volume growth by 2 percent in 2011 and 2012. Any bets on 2013?