Craft beer slowdown in Oregon caused by cannabis?
US brewers big and small prefer not to be drawn out over recreational cannabis’ impact on beer consumption, once it is legal across the whole of the US. So it was remarkable that Deschutes Brewery CEO Michael LaLonde told media that in his opinion cannabis has hurt sales.
He was quoted as saying on 28 April 2018: “[Cannabis] is so potent today. Someone might go and have a beer and do some edibles, and the combination of those two things means they don’t consume as much alcohol.”
Oregon legalised recreational cannabis in 2015. But due to massive overproduction, prices for dope in dispensaries have dropped. If consumed for effect, pot is already far cheaper than beer or spirits. In 2017, a gram of recreational marijuana, which allegedly gives you a one-hour high, on average cost around USD 10. It is down to USD 4 now, observers say. Most likely, dope bought on the black market, which is believed to have absorbed some of the oversupply, costs even less.
Deschutes’ beer sales have certainly suffered in recent years. It produced about 335,000 barrels (390,000 hl) beer in 2017, down from 385,000 barrels (450,000 hl) in 2015.
One could hold against Mr LaLonde that his brewery, which was founded in 1988, might be suffering the fate of many Oregon legacy brewers. Old-timers like Widmer, Rogue and Bridgeport have also struggled with declining volumes as local start-ups have picked up sales. There were 266 craft breweries in the state in 2017, according to the Brewers Association (BA).
What’s more, Oregon is a mature craft beer market. Market research firm IRI estimates that craft beer already controls a market share of 29 percent by value and competition from other tipples like wine, spirits, hard seltzers and malt beverages is fierce.
That may explain why the state of Oregon saw packaged craft beer sales grow only 0.3 percent in 2017, compared to 13.8 percent in 2014, according to IRI. In comparison, packaged craft beer sales across the US grew 3.8 percent in 2017, compared to 14.6 percent in 2014.
Nonetheless, one should out rule out that legal recreational marijuana is a factor, too.
