Celebrating National Beer Day in the Midst of COVID-19

April 7th marks National Beer Day, celebrating America’s embrace and growth of the beer industry dating back to Prohibition-era law reform. The beer industry has changed a great deal since 1933 and the unique 2020 consumer poses new challenges for beer makers. However, the most unexpected threat to the industry this year has been COVID-19. 

Let’s quickly recap which beer styles consumers love the most and what we should expect from National beer brands during an unforeseen world event. 

Beer Trends Over the Past Several Years 

It’s unmistakable that in the past few years, beer consumption has created its own lifestyle trend. Beer drinkers will gladly accept the label of beer snob, beer nerd, or aficionado. Consumers are expanding their palates and improving their knowledge of the craft. Here are the brews that are holding our attention!

– Hazy IPAs – Also known as New England IPAs or Unfiltered

– Brut IPAs – Dry, crisp, floral-noted IPA brewed with Champagne yeast

– Overall IPAs are rulers of the craft beer industry with extreme innovation in the category

– Sours – Broad category with offerings from fruited barrel-aged to low-alcohol, easy drinking

– Low-carb and better-for-you options – reaching the active-lifestyle consumer

Turning challenges into opportunities

The beer aisles and tap lists can be overwhelming. As beer brands are pumping out new styles and staying current with trends, a huge challenge can be educating non-beer drinkers while simultaneously keeping up with the needs and demands of craft beer lifestyle fans. 

If you haven’t graduated to beer snob just yet, don’t worry! That’s where Mirus finds ways to help. Our team of beer-expert Brand Ambassadors, Smarty Pints®, are tasked with the role of introducing the casual drinker to world-class brews. We hook onto the trends, styles, and buzz words linked to the industry in order to better serve the brands we support and drive retail sales. 

Celebrating National Beer Day in the midst of COVID-19

Each day, our country faces new challenges in tackling the effects of COVID-19 on our nation’s people and economy. The beer industry has seen an overabundance of new hurdles to leap during this time but with adaptability and extreme creativity. 

Here are some ways beer brands can stay connected to each other and to their customers: 

– Virtual lunch or happy hours – Virtual meetups are fun and casual ways to stay connected with your internal team while employees are working remotely. Recently Mirus participated in our own Friday afternoon happy hour to end the week and have some laughs as a team. The only thing NOT on the agenda, was work. 

– Increased social media presence – While heavy news of shelter-in-place orders are issued across the nation, social media has been a great connector and information sharing network. Many brands are utilizing Instagram and Facebook Live to share brewery news or company updates. Consumers want to keep up with your brands and continue to be engaged.

– New e-commerce opportunities – Do you sell products on your website? Do you offer home delivery or pick up at your local tasting rooms? Do you provide touch-free transactions and encourage health and safety? Feel free to brag and share your creative strategies with your network of followers! 

– Virtual brew days and collaborations – Connect with your beer community and participate in virtual or collaborative brew sessions. Share recipes, nominate each other in challenges, promote charities and partnerships.

There has been massive change over the last month alone in consumer behavior as noted in our recent Mirus blog post, Discovering Buying Trends Through COVID-19. From toilet paper to beer, we are all purchasing MORE of everything that we need right now. 

According to recent Nielsen research provided by Brewbound, consumption behavior has seen rapid change. While consumers are buying into the brands they know well (think premium light beers), they’re also buying in large quantities to match the trend of stocking up on supplies. According to Nielsen data, sales of 24-packs and 30-packs are up 90% and 87% in mid-March, compared to 12-packs (+61%) and 6-packs (+16%).

How are you staying connected and adapting to new challenges this year? Don’t forget to follow Mirus on Facebook and Instagram as we continue to keep our network updated on consumer trends and commemorate occasions such as National Beer Day! 

Written by: Jeannine Boisse