My first draft of this column set out to analyze the ways that brewers could capitalize on the booming interest in “flavor-driven” beer. As sales of craft beer slow, producers are looking for new growth opportunities, and these kinds of offerings—think fruit, herb, and spice brews, often mimicking classic cocktails—seem right in line with the kinds of products that have kept many smaller brewers going, if not growing.
However, as I wrote, I began to think more deeply about how effective this strategy would be, and I ultimately changed course.
Flavor-driven beers are joining a lengthening list of drinks hell-bent on blurring the lines between wine, spirits, beer, cocktails, cider, soda, coffee, tea, and more. These flavored malt beverages (FMBs) have been working alongside ready-to-drink cocktails (RTDs) to dominate retail shelves, and with spirits finally overcoming beer in dollar sales, it’s no surprise that brewers are designing flavor-driven products to get in on the action. Yet the field is already extremely crowded, and it’s dominated by large producers nimble and efficient enough to get an ever-expanding array of inexpensive options to the (mostly retail) market. The shelves have become a blur of diverse, flavored beverages, beer-based or otherwise, each increasingly less interested in the classic beer flavors derived from grain, hops, water, and fermentation.