Notes on Boston Beer
“ largest craft brewer in the United States
sold approximately 2.5 million barrels
sold over fifty beers under the Samuel Adams® or the Sam Adams® brand names, seven flavored malt beverages under the Twisted Tea® brand name, three hard cider beverages under the Angry Orchard™ brand name and one hard cider under the HardCore® brand name
produces malt beverages and hard cider at Company-owned breweries and under contract arrangements at other brewery locations [more contract manufacturing]
After the end of Prohibition, most domestic brewers shifted production to less flavorful, lighter beers, which use lower-cost ingredients, and can be mass-produced to take advantage of economies of scale in production. This shift towards mass-produced beers coincided with consolidation in the beer industry. Today, two major brewers, Anheuser-Busch InBev (“AB InBev”) and MillerCoors LLC (“MillerCoors”), comprise over 90% of all United States domestic beer production, excluding imports. [yep, it’s a duopoly]
Samuel Adams® is one of the largest brands in the Better Beer category of the United States brewing industry, trailing the imports Corona® and Heineken®.
in 2011 the craft beer category grew approximately 12% to 14%, while the Better Beer category was up approximately 6%, while the total beer category was down approximately 1% to 2%.The Company believes that the Better Beer category is approximately 20% of United States beer consumption by volume.
decline is due to declining alcohol consumption per person in the population, drinkers trading up to drink high quality, more flavorful beers and increased competition from wine and spirits companies. [bacardi breeze?]
The Company’s Twisted Tea product line competes primarily within the flavored malt beverage (“FMB”) category of the beer industry. FMB’s, such as Twisted Tea, Smirnoff Ice®, BacardiSilver® and Mike’s Hard Lemonade®, are flavored malt beverages that are typically priced competitively with Better Beers. The Company believes that the FMB category comprises approximately 2% of United States beer consumption.
The Company’s Angry Orchard and HardCore product lines compete within the hard cider category. Hard ciders, such as Angry Orchard, HardCore, Woodchuck®, Hornsbys®, Strongbow® and Magners®, are typically priced competitively with Better Beers. The Company believes that the hard cider category comprises approximately 0.2% of United States beer consumption
sells its products to a network of approximately 400 wholesale distributors.
With few exceptions, the Company’s products are not the primary brands in distributors’ portfolios.
Historically, wholesalers carry three to five weeks of packaged inventory (usually at ambient temperatures) and three to four weeks of draft inventory.
sales force of approximately 300 people,
Noble hops are rare and more expensive than most other varieties of hops. Traditional English hops, namely, East Kent Goldings and English Fuggles, are used in most of the Company’s ales [Germany, Czech Republic, England]
The brewing and packaging agreements with MillerCoors and Nestlé Professional Vitality are expiring during the first quarter of 2012 and the Company does not expect them to be renewed.
the Company estimates there are approximately 770 shipping craft breweries, up from approximately 420 craft breweries in 2006. [wow, what a boom for the *sellers* of equipment] There are also an approximately 800 new craft breweries in planning stages that will likely result in an additional 300 or more shipping craft breweries in next 2 to 3 years. [bubble? lot more competition anyway] Also, existing craft breweries are building more capacity, expanding geographically, adding more SKUs and styles as distributors and retailers are promoting and making more shelf space available for more craft beer brands.
employed approximately 840 people, of which approximately 72 were covered by collective bargaining agreements at the Cincinnati Brewery. ”
