The first thing I should point out is that judging takes place over three days; Saturday, Sunday and Monday following a briefing and a brewery visit on the Friday, and it is incredibly serious.
You are sitting at tables of six in a massive room in the Convention Centre, with a couple of metres between you and the next table so you aren’t disturbed.
Each beer must be analysed sensorially and attributes recorded individually before discussions with your five fellow judges on your table to put forward three beers to the next round.
The discussions are about the quality of the beer, how it is true to the style guidelines as well as its balance and drinkability.
By this stage of judging, the beers have already gone through a first round of judging a few weeks prior at the Brewers Association HQ in Louisville, Colorado.
They are all exceptional so the discussions we had were long and meaningful.
There were 265 judges; from 37 different countries (eight of us were brave enough to venture over from the UK) and more than 5,000 beers to get through in 112 beer categories and six cider categories.
Fortunately, you put forward your 39 specialist beer categories in advance but judging the final of the Belgian Wit did have me on my toes! Give me ESBs, Pales, and Barley Wines any day!! (Fortunately, I got to finish up on the Barley wines!).
Recent changes
After the competition the Craft Brewers Conference (CBC) takes place. This is one of the largest trade shows for brewers in the US so many of our UK suppliers were there.
Being based in Cornwall means we don’t have many people ‘passing by’ so it was great for me to catch up with all our key ingredients and processing aid suppliers.
I was also able to support the Chartered Institute of Brewing & Distilling - with whom I’m now a trustee - with growing its membership base as well as seeing new technologies for brewing, processing and dispense.
A programme of seminars also takes places over the three days of the CBC so I took the opportunity to go and listen to Bart Watson, the new CEO & president of the Brewers Association (formerly its chief economist). I’m sure his speech will be published soon but I scribbled down as many notes as I could to share with you.
He started by talking about changes in the past year; is the fact that craft beer is down 4% in the US the new reality or just headwinds as, encouragingly, 43% of breweries experienced growth in the past year.
The smaller brewpubs (500 brls per annum) experienced the most decline and number of closures. However, it’s important to understand why and how.
He referred to the craft equation which is made up of the number of craft drinkers, how much they drink and the number of craft occasions.
It appears that craft drinkers are drinking more out of category i.e. wine, hard seltzers, cider and spirits, and although craft drinkers are quite affluent- so less sensitive to price changes- they have felt the cost pressures this past year so they are drinking on fewer occasions.
There was a complicated slide showing the interrelations between sports gambling, public health messaging, weight management drugs, hemp beverages and lifestyle patterns and choices that will also affect the components of the craft equation.
Top tips
So, what was the strategy suggested, I hear you ask.
One, tell your story. What are your credentials? What’s your sustainability plan? What are you about? Tell the customer.
Secondly, be efficient as a brewer: don’t make too many beers or SKUs. The regionals who rationalised their brands a few years ago are now reaping the benefits. I guess he was referring to Sierra Nevada (who still managed to scoop three GOLD medals, including one for its Pale ale, although in the ESB category!), Deschutes, Alaksan Brew co and so forth.
Thirdly, give the customers what they want in the tap room; have events and create a lively space that people want to visit
Finally, there was a lot about FLAVOUR and the different generations and their requirements. Gen Z aren’t all about no/low alcohol, they like fruity flavours for example. Gen Y, the millennials, and are all about sweet (malt) flavours so let’s continue with showcasing the glory of malt and expanding the ‘malt’iverse.
Although we need to continue to showcase IPAs (you have to remember that in the USA IPAs average ~ 7% ABV and there are East coast ones (hazy and fruity), West coast ones (really high in bitterness)- and lots of other ones in between.
IPAs dominate the US market and yet there are so many other flavours from such a wide variety of beer styles that a bar or tap room in the US will offer more than 20 different beers and about 12 different styles covering all the requirements of each generation. So, although brand rationalisation also helps the winning formula: showcasing a variety of beer styles is important.
I was lucky enough to visit four different breweries with tap rooms (three were within walking distance from the Convention Center!) and as expected they all had well over 20 beers on offer; the range was incredible, there was something for everyone, but it doesn’t help point two.
Now I’m not sure we will be launching a garlic infused stout, gingerbread mild or brown IPA anytime soon, but we will ensure we showcase our wonderful Belgian range of beers, our malty amber Gem and strong Hicks ale alongside our Korev, Tribute and Proper Job as well as bringing our sustainability story and credentials to life. Mind you, I wouldn’t mind brewing a Mexican lager!
