Not the Spam Effect

If you're like me, you had to downgrade some of your spending during the recession. Even though it hasn't been utter collapse, it still has required a bit of tightening the belt. Most economists have linked economically depressed times with a surge in low-end purchases such as Spam. The thinking is the poorer people are or feel the more they will downgrade from steak to Spam. I recently pored over some news items about beer sales in the U.S., and when it comes to craft beer, it is a much different story.

At the end of 2010, MillerCoors sales slipped, including Miller Lite. What's odd is that its super cheap beers such as High Life, Keystone and Milwaukee's Best also slipped. It would figure that the cheap beers would surge when people either had or felt they had less money. However, the company saws its "premium" beer Tenth and Blake surge by double digits.

Does this mean that people are switching from low-end beers to craft beers regardless of the recession? Perhaps. Perhaps we are already doing better economically and this is a leading indicator. Perhaps people are fed up with low-end tasteless beer and prefer to drink quality beer instead.

Personally, I have favored cutting back on buying beer and saving money for a real good purchase. Instead of a case of Miller, I'll save my money for a growler of Half Acre. I can't drink as much, but what I do drink is quality. I'd like to think that these numbers show that craft beer is sticking in America and that people are starting to choose quality over cost consistently.

However, it's important to keep in mind that MillerCoors still sells more beer in one quarter than Half Acre has ever sold. So, there's still work to be done.