"Hard seltzer is arguably the most disruptive entrant into the alcohol category since light beer," Casey O'Neill, an innovation team member for Truly Hard Seltzer, told Food Dive. Because IRI considers hard seltzers, malt beverages and domestic super-premium beers in this category, July's reported sales of beer were up 3.5% since January, totaling $19.5 billion. Seltzer currently holds about a 2.8% share of the total market for beer, flavored malt beverages and cider, according to Nielsen data sent to Food Dive.Īnd hard seltzer, which is often put in the larger beer category for marketing statistical purposes, is where the category is finding growth. Sales for smaller, independent craft breweries grew 8% in 2017 to $26 billion, according to a report from the Brewers Association.Ĭomparing hard seltzer to craft beer, Fromm said they are both beverages that aren't going away, but will not replace everything else in the category either. According to the Brewers Association's most recent data, craft beer now accounts for 13.2% of the U.S.
As the country drinks less beer, hard seltzer sales have been booming.įromm said the hard seltzer segment parallels craft beer in many ways since both took a big chunk of the market when they got popular. Last year marked the fifth consecutive year that beer volumes dropped. The spiked seltzer category has seen exponential growth in the last year as more companies, from Constellation Brands to AB InBev, are launching new drinks. Companies and analysts told Food Dive the current trajectory of growth is expected to continue in the near term, and the hard seltzer boom represents the innovation defining alcohol's future. Legacy alcohol and beer brands have been threatened by new trendy drinks, pushing them to turn to ready-to-drink beverages as well as low- and no-alcohol drinks. Hard seltzer has risen to popularity as the rest of the alcohol industry has struggled to retain young consumers. It's like, 'I better get some before they run out.' "īut White Claw is far from the only brand taking advantage of the hard seltzer trend. "Because there's nothing that makes a good restaurant more popular than being told, 'I can't get you in now, but I could get in soon.' And there's nothing that makes a drink more popular than limited availability on the shelf. "I don't know if they did on purpose or on accident, but it was great," Fromm said. Posing with the beverage in pictures and using the widely popular phrase "Ain't no laws when you're drinking Claws," the word-of-mouth press the brand has received on social media and the shortage of the product helped create the boom. The drink has been especially popular among millennials, who have essentially been marketing the brand on social media. The can is a great size and shape for people of both sexes," Jeff Fromm, a partner at brand strategy consulting company Barkley, told Food Dive. "It's sort of just a trifecta of innovation." It feels like it's not a lot of calories. The most recent update, on June 24, 2021, added Aeronaut Allston, Night Shift Assembly, and Bent Water Brewing at the Porch, and details on other breweries’ current COVID policies and offerings were also added or changed."White Claw is hitting on a lot of great themes. This map was originally published on it is updated occasionally. Check with an individual brewery for updates. Some are continuing to pause features like dog-friendly policies and lawn and arcade games as well. Note: While nearly all state-mandated COVID restrictions have ended as of mid-June, many venues still have their own guidelines in place regarding face coverings, social distancing, party sizes, etc. Here are some of the best outdoor, family-friendly breweries and beer gardens to visit around Boston this summer. Often featuring expansive patios, crowd-pleasing comfort food menus, entertainment, and casual, loud ambiences, breweries can be the perfect spot for families to catch up with each other over a beer for the adults and snacks and lawn games for the kids. Given the main attraction at breweries - the beer - it may seem counterintuitive to think of them as family-friendly destinations, but quite a few local breweries do invite the whole family to stop by.