Happy Anniversary… Year 2

This post begins the third year of BeerBusinessUnplugged, and as promised, I would like to comment on what has taken place over the past year, the second year of this blog.

In the last 12 months, the weekly subscribers have tripled and readership has more than quadrupled. I have truly enjoyed publishing and hearing back from each of you, including both the positive and negative comments.  I am also getting many more suggestions for future topics and these are greatly appreciated.

By far the one post that was read the most of any others in the past two years, and the one I also received the most comments on (all positive) was I Remember, the story and video of the history of Schlitz Brewing Co.  The video was a production of Milwaukee Public TV and ran for 26 minutes.   As has been true in the past, the one topic that drew the most comments, both positive and negative, were posts dealing with franchise laws and legislation.  That should not be surprising to anyone.

The December year-end post which honors a retired, well known beer individual is always my favorite.  Last year was no exception; it also drew a large number of positive comments on George Henricksen, 2013’s honoree.

I am frequently asked how large crafts will grow in the U.S.  Obviously we do not know that answer, however, my standard reply is to focus on Oregon as a template.  With over 50% share of market, and highly segmented, Oregon represents the ceiling of what could happen.  That being said, look at the map at the top of the page as it indicates the number of breweries per million people.  If the trend continues, than you can expect many more breweries, especially in the southeast and southwest.  You can see the states under indexed verses Oregon.

I have included the top 10 bestselling beers in the world.  Again, it is interesting to note the number of Chinese beers on the list.  This year, at the bottom of the page, I have included all of the top selling beers of each country who has qualified for this year’s World Cup.  You will find it somewhat interesting, just click on it and take a look.

This industry lends itself to no shortage of topics on which to blog, however, feel free to comment on various industry issues that you find important. I welcome the challenge. Finally, I wish to thank you all for your comments and support.  I have truly enjoyed reading your opinions and comments.  Until next week, Happy Anniversary, year number two!

Top ten best-selling beers by volume in 2013:

1. Snow
2. Tsingtao
3. Bud Light
4. Budweiser
5. Skol
6. Yanjing
7. Heineken
8. Harbin
9. Brahma
10. Coors Light