Demographics and Geographic info

Beer Demographics/Geographic’s

We have decided to brand a micro brewed beer for this project. To understand the demographics and geographical information pertaining to microbrews we must first take a quick look at the history of beer in the United States and other parts of the world. Not only is beer a beverage popular around the world, it has an extensive history. The earliest records of beer date back to about 5,000 years ago in ancient Mesopotamia.( A History of Beer http://www.alabev.com/history.htm)Other early examples of brewing beer include the Ancient Chinese and the Egyptians. The Chinese produced, "Kui" which was a beer like substance. Along with these examples, some believe that even the Egyptian Pharos brewed beer and included beer in their daily diets. Passed down through generations and transcended through many cultures beer is multicultural. Today beer is an especially important drink with deep unbroken brewing traditions in countries such as Belgium, Germany, Ireland and the UK. Each distinct region has their own tradition and interpretation of how beer is produced. While brewing beer began as a family-oriented activity it quickly became an artisan tradition and today beer is mass-produced for global markets.

With the advent of the Industrial revolution in the United States in 1765, the industrialization of beer became a reality. Prior to prohibition there were thousands of breweries in the United States. When prohibition hit, it drove many breweries out of business. During prohibition bootlegged beer was often watered down to increase profits. This began the trend that is ongoing today in American culture. Many Americans prefer watered down beers, making this type of beer distinctive to our culture. After prohibition a few corporations emerged that had the resources to supply beer to the masses. They were Budweiser and Miller and they produced a lighter more watered down beer appealing to the taste of the American public. At this time, smaller breweries began to spring up. Eventually they were called microbreweries because they produced less than 15,000 barrels annually. (http://www.beer-brewing-advice.com/Microbrewery-And-America.htm) In addition to producing small quantities, microbreweries specialize in quality and diversity of beers. Gradually they came to reflect an alternative attitude towards beer and their approach to brewing included flexibility, adaptability, experimentation and above all, customer service. Microbreweries were able to accomplish something other major corporations could not through mass production. Microbreweries now have become more abundant since the mid 1980's and currently there are more than 1600 microbreweries in the United States. (http://www.wisegeek.com/)

After prohibition beer had a small geographic region because of the high costs to transport it. People who drank beer had to rely on locally produced beer. As technology progressed it became easier to mass-produce and transport it across the country. Geographer Wes Flack has hypothesized "that the growth of such establishments is a prime illustration of a movement termed ‘neo-localism’ in which people are attempting to reconnect with the local, the personal and the unique." In the article, Microbreweries as tools of Local Identity, Steven M. Schnell and Joseph F. Reese define neo-localism as the active, conscious creation and maintenance of attachment to place. They go on to say that microbreweries are still on the rise partly because, "people in small ways are attempting to reclaim a sense of place and a distinct landscape in the face of our globalizing economy." Microbreweries provide a diverse array of ales that can be found nowhere else, creating a truly unique experience. Many microbreweries and brewpubs across the country are limited to regions, with the exception of a handful that bottle and ship their products across the country. Demographically, beer drinking within the United States is male dominated. 80% of all of the consumed volume is attributed to male consumption. A large number of the males are primarily white. The majority of men also favor domestic light beer and domestic draft beer. When it comes to the demographic of women, light beer has the strongest following. Women are also more likely to be attracted to specialty micro brewed beers than they are to big brands, possibly because of their larger variety. According to the article, Market Research and advertising by Kent Wolfe he states "Micro brewed consumers consume an average of $250 worth of beer annually. Younger people were more likely to have tried a microbrew. Thirty-six percent of beer drinkers between the ages of 25 and 34 had tried a microbrew. In contrast, 27% of beer drinkers between the ages 34 through 45 and 20% of those 45 and older had tried microbrews." From this information it is clear that not only are microbrews popular, they reach a demographic of a younger adult. Microbrews also tend to be a little more expensive than mass-produced beer so we will have to target the middle class white American males and females. We also need to focus on the local, person and unique qualities in our beer that people are increasingly becoming attracted to. We need to create a local identity for our brand that attaches with it a sense of place. It needs to look and feel like Colorado.