The 2013 Craft Beer Conference is in full swing here at the Washington Convention Center, and with the country’s greatest brewers congregating under one roof, you better believe that some pretty interesting insider knowledge is getting passed around. One of the more interesting lectures I had the privilege of attending during today’s conference sessions was “The Who, What, Where, When and How of the Craft Beer Consumer”, a discussion led by Danny Brager on the relevant statistics and trends of the craft beer drinker.

Equipped with extensive Nielsen data on consumer and retail trends over the past few years, Danny provided some pretty compelling statistics and numbers that quickly painted the picture of who drinks craft beer in this country.

Here are some of the more interesting figures from Danny’s lecture that caught my eye:

• Upscale Beer: It’s What’s For Dinner – Upscale beer (i.e. craft beers) have experienced an overall surge in demand and consumption, and despite the higher pricing of the beer (like a bottle of Dogfish Head over a bottle of Bud), the craft beer segment has seen a massive growth in sales in the past four years that other segments of beer have not been experiencing
• Young Folks Be Drinkin’ – Almost 1/3 of beer buyers have purchased a craft beer over the past 12 months, with Millennials representing 47% of the craft beer market (according to market research)
• Check Out My Awesome Beer Collection Dude – Household penetration of craft beers has seen growth of 27% over the past four years, from 2008 to 2012
• Why Do Craft Beer Drinkers Buy…Well, Craft Beers? – 50% of people polled in a study said they buy craft beers to experiment in flavors, 46% said they bought craft beers because they taste better (duh), and 40% said they enjoy the seasonal offerings that craft beers provide, while 36% of people polled said they buy craft beers as a treat for either a friend or themselves

Drinkers By the Numbers

• Millennials make up 32.9% of the volume of craft beer consumers, and this demographic makes up 26.1% of the total adult population
• Gen X’ers make up 23.9% of the volume of craft beer consumers, and this demographic makes up 18.7% of the total adult population
• Boomers make up 34.6% of the volume of craft beer consumers, and this demographic makes up 37.0% of the total adult population
• Men compose 71.9% of the volume of craft beer consumers, and compose 48.3% of the total adult population
• Women compose 28.1% of the volume of craft beer consumers, and compose 51.7% of the total adult population
• Ethnically, the ‘white’ demographic of drinkers make up 85.6% of total craft beer consumers, and compose 68.0% of the total adult population

Conclusion, AKA Who the Hell Drinks Craft Beers

By the numbers according to the percentage of the population they compose in relation to the percentage of the craft beer consumer market they compose, White Male Millennials and Gen X’ers tend to be the number one consumer of craft beers.

Not a shocker, I know, but still interesting sets of data to take into account when marketing your beer.

With that said, craft beers are still continuing to grow and pick up other demographics as well. Danny made a strong point that despite the urge to temper your marketing efforts to capture this ‘holy grail’ demographic of drinkers, there is enormous potential in these other markets of drinkers as well.

Well there you go folks, some craft beer knowledge dropped on you. Keep following InTheCapital for more CBC 2013 updates and articles!