Specialty Beers Growing in Popularity
By MEREDITH LAND
Updated 11:30 AM CST, Fri, Jan 30, 2009
Whle many industries struggle in the recession, the specialty beer business is booming.
Tana Ford with Sigels said that sales of specialty beers has doubled in their stores in just the last year alone.
Barry Andrews, president and owner of Andrews Distributing, has over 200 brands and said he recently added 40,000 square feet of space to capitalize on the changing industry.
"It can go up and it can go down. What we're seeing now is that the consumer is wanting more choices than he's ever wanted before," said Andrews.
For instance, one hot item is craft beer bottled in a wine bottle -- a quality unmatched in a wine bottle for the cost of $15 to $20.
"These Belgian craft beers are kind of like the new wine for people. At white tablecloth restaurants, people can go in and for 20 bucks, get the best possible beer made in the world," said Blake Andrews, vice president of Andrews Distributing.
Specialty beer isn't just hot in Texas. The surging sector grossed $5.1 billion last year nationwide with sales increasing 15 percent over the previous year.
First Published: Jan 30, 2009 10:35 AM CST
You Might Like
You have 2000 characters left
