Craft Lager
There are many styles of beer and craft beer has been known to favor the bold, flavorful styles of Ales such as IPAs, Pale Ales, Stouts, and Porters. With the movement of Macro breweries to cheap, flavorless beers, craft breweries went to the opposite side of the spectrum in order to distinguish themselves. A new trend in the craft beer industry is to offer craft lager in order to prevent alienating beer drinkers who like light, crisp drinks.
Craft lagers were one of the fastest growing beer styles for small brewers in 2015, pilsners in particular. Throughout the recent growth of craft breweries, very few craft brewers brewed lagers of any style. It was rare for a craft brewery to experience long-term success as a brewer of solely lagers. Aside from trying to do things differently than Macro brewers, craft breweries didn’t sell lagers for a number of reasons. These include taking longer to ferment and being a hard style to master with less to mask off flavors. With the slowing of growth for craft beer, many breweries are finding times when they aren’t using all of their fermenting tanks. They have decided to use this extra space to try brewing lagers. At recent beer festivals amber light lagers, Pilsners, and lighter tastings ales such as Kolsch have become more popular.
Lager Sales Growth
Pilsners sales were up 123% in 2015 while some lighter ales such as Blonde, Kolsch, and Golden ales were up 60%. These styles are becoming more popular as Micro and Macro breweries continue to battle it out for market share in the beer industry. The middle ground between light, weak Macro beers and heavy, strong Micro beers is where breweries are taking the fight.
Macro breweries are stepping into this ground in order to appeal to the craft beer drinkers and regain some of their market shares while Microbreweries are attempting to make it easier to transition from a Macro brew to Microbrew. Another reason for Microbreweries to add craft lagers to their line up is to appeal to everyday drinkers. While craft beer drinkers enjoy dark, hoppy beers, it’s not always something they want to drink every day. Many craft drinkers are getting an overkill from drinking heavy beers every day. Craft lagers also contain lower alcohol profiles and are easier to drink more of.
Microbreweries are also moving away from Pumpkin style ales during October and moving towards craft lagers. Craft lagers are great for drinking any time of the year and are great for pairing with food, making them a popular choice amongst craft beer drinkers. This new trend is getting back to Oktoberfest roots. Although I don’t see the pumpkin keg leaving any time soon, a lot of brewers are moving away from it.
Conclusion
With the leveling out of the growth of craft beer in the United States, breweries are always looking for new ways to grow their market share. Both macro and microbreweries are moving into more flavorful lagers coming into a head to head battle to try and control this new market.
What do you think is the current craft beer trend? Let me know in the comments below! Be sure to follow me on social media and sign up for my newsletter to stay up to date.
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