Craft beer is defying the doom and gloom surrounding the pub industry, according to the latest sector statistics.
Currently, worth £1.1bln, teh craft beer sector grown by 7% since the pandemic started, a report by CGA found.
In comparison, the wider beer sector has seen a slight dip since the end of 2019.
“Craft has stolen 0.7 percentage points from mainstream categories like standard and premium larger,” CGA said.
This growth has come at a time when hospitality outlet owners' confidence is rock-bottom as energy bills and inflation weigh on earnings.
Pub operators like Marston’s, JD Wetherspoon and Fuller, Smith & Turner have seen their share price drop in the last year by as much as 58%.
What a craft beer is still remains debatable.
Some argue it is dependent on the size of the brewer, while others reference the recipe or method used to produce the beer.
CGA’s definition considers the average consumer’s perception of aspects like branding and pricing, arguing that even a big brewery-owned brand could constitute a craft.
Therefore, the billion-pound market includes businesses like Beavertown and Camden Hells – both of which are owned by big players in the industry.
Beavertown, which was bought by Heineken for US$40mln last year, made £6.6mln in pre-tax profit in 2022, up more than £10mln versus the £3.5mln loss the year before.
While this makes up less than 1% of Heineken’s total profits, the Dutch brewer stated that premium brands had seen some of the best volume growth in 2022.
Heineken’s high-end brands grew by more than 11% year-on-year, ahead of organic growth of 6.9%.
The brewer has seen its share price rise by more than 13% this year, with rivals AB InBev and Carlsberg experiencing similar growth.