Craft is it
It seems to be a common feature of mature beer markets around the world: volumes of craft beer rise while overall beer consumption declines. Same in Ireland. For several years now, beer consumption has gone south. Last year it dropped 1.8 percent on 2011 while the value of the beer market dipped by a similar 1.8 percent or EUR 400 million to EUR 2.45 billion, says Heineken. Per capita beer consumption now stands at about 86 litres, down from 90 litres in 2010.
In response to this trend, major brewers have rejigged their strategies. U.S.-Canadian brewer Molson Coors, though a distant number three player in Ireland (behind Diageo and Heineken), has recently launched a range of craft beers – The Craft Collection – which, it claims, will bring together its "growing range of award-winning Irish and international craft beers for pubs and off-licences across Ireland under one umbrella brand offering".
The UK debut of The Craft Collection is due to take place later in 2013.
The collection unites the brands from Franciscan Well, Sharp’s, William Worthington and Blue Moon Brewing Company into one brewing collective, it was reported.
While Blue Moon is a long-time Coors brand, Sharp’s, Franciscan Well and William Worthington are fairly recent additions. Molson Coors opened the William Worthington’s microbrewery in Burton-upon-Trent in 2010. In 2011 they bought the Sharp’s brewery in Cornwall, which brews Doom Bar, one of the fastest growing top 50 beer brands in the UK. And in early 2013 they took over the Franciscan Well brewery in Cork, which was set up in 1998.
Ireland was selected as the launch country for The Craft Collection due to the explosion of the craft beer market there, both in terms of the availability of craft beers and the establishment of a growing number of dedicated craft beer pubs.
Irish media report that the local craft beer market is expected to grow from EUR 24 million to an estimated EUR 235 million in retail sales value by 2017, thus increasing its share of the overall beer market from 0.8 percent to 10 percent.
Today, there are reportedly 16 microbreweries dotted across the country, all carving out a distinct niche in their local areas.
However, Molson Coors are not planning to put all their eggs into one basket, so to speak. In early April this year they also launched a premium-priced lager, Molson Canadian, which is expected to sell larger quantities than their craft beer range.
That’s why Molson Coors are confident that within five to six years they will be the number two brewer in the market, having overtaken Heineken.
Molson Coors expect to produce 100,000 hl of beer at their Cork brewery following a substantial investment in facilities this year.
