Craft beer hits double digit market share

Sales and volume up strong in 2016

The steady and sustained growth of American craft brewing continued during 2016, according to data released by the Brewers Association (BA). MORE...

A sour for all seasons

Beginning in 2015, many have predicted that the tart and sour beer category will be among the hottest beer trends. It is an easy one to take advantage of.

These days, no moderately large beer list (15 or more bottle selections) is complete without at least a beer or two in the tart/sour category. While this may have been difficult to achieve as recently as five years ago, it is much easier now as local and regional breweries continue to develop interesting offerings in this category. MORE...

Berliner Weisse the perfect beer of summer

We call it Florida Weisse, in honor of the brewers in the state of Florida who are the current leaders in modernizing this old style to contemporary tastes. And who would better know the need for a good hot season beer than Floridians? Not to worry, these Neo-Berliner-style Weisse beers are now being produced by quality craft brewers across the country.

Berliner Weisse is one of the very few beers available that has significant acidity. This pleasant tartness gives it a versatility that other light-style beers can’t match. If there is a more refreshing beer, we don’t don’t know its name. MORE...

Differentiation: Craft versus Macro

The prime beer list differentiator is no longer Domestic vs. Imported, but Craft vs. Macro. Designing a beer menu that announces “We understand beer” will help your restaurant sell more of the higher-profit craft beers. MORE...

Craft alternatives to light beer

In American restaurants today, Bud Light and a handful of similar macro-brewed light-lager brands (Miller, Coors, Corona and Amstel) make up a huge chunk of beer sales. If you'd like to liberate your restaurant from this rather boring mass-market standardization, but not hurt your business, there is a right way to go about it. MORE...

Supercharging a beer pairing dinner

Beer–food pairing dinners are a popular feature in better restaurants today. You know the type — flavorful craft beers paired with four or five food courses and pre-sold as a packaged event. They're fun, easy to do, and profitable.

But there are beer dinners and then there are BEER dinners. The supercharged BEER dinner is one that not only pairs the beer with an appropriate dish, but also includes beer as an ingredient in the dish. Using beer as an ingredient truly elevates the pairing dinner to a whole new level. It also challenges the chef to think more deeply and creatively when creating the menu. The results generally speak for themselves. MORE...

Use this authoritative beer style reference

When you can’t quite remember the differences among Old Ale, Strong Ale, and Heavy Ale, you need to consult the Beer Style Guidelines published by the Brewers Association within its CraftBeer.com website.

The guidelines describe over 140 styles of beer and are used in prestigious beer competitions, such as the Great American Beer Festival® and the World Beer Cup®. It is the most authoritative source for descriptions of beer styles the way they are made today.

Restaurateurs will find the guidelines useful when planning or updating their beer menus. Its categories and sub-groupings are helpful when deciding how to organize and stratify the beer list. Use its style definitions to help select the points to emphasize when writing a beer’s description. Just reading through the details of the 140 styles will undoubtedly give beer ideas to even the most experienced food and beverage managers.