One in four beers launched globally in 2014 was high strength

Isn’t it ironic that the U.S., once associated with light beers, now keeps on churning out higher alcohol beers en masse?

New research from Mintel, published on 1 July 2015, has found that almost one in four (23 percent) beers launched globally in 2014 and 25 percent in 2013 had an ABV of 6.5% or higher, up from just one in seven (15 percent) beers launched in 2012.

What’s more, largely due to the growth of craft beers, Mintel’s research finds that between 2011 and 2014, the number of beers launched globally with an ABV of 6.5% or over rose by 280 percent, with the number launched in North America growing by 319 percent, in Europe by 307 percent, in Latin America by 260 percent and in Asia Pacific by 46 percent.

Around the world between 2011 and 2014, North America saw the most beer launches with an ABV higher than 6.5%, with 46 percent of launches happening in this region, closely followed by Europe which hosted 40 percent of launches.

Jonny Forsyth, Global Drinks Analyst at Mintel, said:

“More global beer drinkers now view high ABV as a key quality indicator, inspired by the success of craft beer in the U.S. – and increasingly globally over the past two years. While in certain countries, drinking strong beer has long been the cultural norm, they were previously the exception rather than the rule. The craft beer phenomenon has made high strength beer acceptable for consumers. And not just acceptable, but trendy and sophisticated. For example, in the highly influential U.S. craft beer scene, the most popular style is the hop-heavy IPA which regularly uses a high ABV to ensure its flavour has extra bite. Imperial stouts and porters have also emerged as a popular craft beer style in the U.S. and are usually hovering at around 10% ABV.”

However, while craft beer drinkers are likely to drink a lesser quantity of beer, the beverage remains primarily about refreshment and volume, particularly in the summer months.” Mr Forsyth adds.

That’s why, never tardy, craft brewers in the U.S. and elsewhere have put their efforts behind “sessionable” IPAs – which supposedly combine the hoppiness of an IPA with the lower alcohol content of a session beer. Although it’s hard to say which was the first “Session IPA”, it is generally acknowledged that Founders All Day IPA was among the style’s innovators. Initially brewed in 2010 and packaged in 2012, All Day IPA has become so popular it not only put Founders, a brewery from Grand Rapids, on the map, it put the entire style of “session IPA” on the map in the United States.