Mergers, prices big beer stories in 2008

Certainly the biggest beer story of 2008 was Belgian-based InBev’s multibillion-dollar takeover of Anheuser-Busch. And you didn’t need to be clairvoyant to predict the December headline that proclaimed the newly merged brewing giant would cut 1,400 jobs in the United States.

The year also saw the merger of London-based SABMiller and Denver-based Molson-Coors. That means that the three biggest American beer producers are owned by European companies. But beer geeks can take pride in the fact that pioneering craft brewer Sierra Nevada is now the biggest privately owned U.S. brewery. And according to the Brewers Association, 1,420 of the 1,463 U.S. breweries are independent craft brewers.

At the start of 2008, what many smaller craft brewers thought about most, though, were worldwide malt and hop shortages and drastically rising prices. The shortfalls seem to have eased, but continuing high costs have resulted in everyone paying more for a six-pack.

A six of craft beer, such as Sweetwater or Terrapin, that retailed for about $6.99 in 2007, will be more like $7.99 in 2009, and it won’t be unusual to see $8.99, $9.99 or $10.99 for high-gravity and seasonal beers from the likes of Dogfish Head and Victory.

But the best beer is still a bargain, especially compared to quality wine and spirits. And the really good news is that despite a weak economy, the craft beer industry is still growing at a steady clip, up by 11 percent in dollar sales in the first half of the year.

Georgia’s biggest craft brewery, Sweetwater Brewing Co., reports producing more than 20 percent more beer in 2008. Terrapin Beer Co. began brewing in its Athens brewery in early 2008, and was up 38 percent by the end of the year. And after moving into a new brewery in 2007, Atlanta Brewing Co. was up by a whopping 100 percent, doubling the beer it brewed in 2008.

While Georgia breweries continued to do well, the big news for many beer geeks was the 2008 arrival of offerings from several successful American craft breweries that had been longtime market holdouts —- most notably California’s Stone, Pennsylvania’s Weyerbacher and Vermont’s Magic Hat. Now they’re wondering, will Bell’s and New Belgium come around in 2009?

For beer connoisseurs, who think that brewers and chefs belong together like barley and hops, 2008 was a giddy time. The idea that beer is a worthy pairing for all kinds of food finally seems beyond debate, with beer dinners popping up everywhere, even at the fancy French restaurant Joel.

While almost everyone hates the term, the rise of the “gastropub” in Atlanta was a sign of the times. Recently, hip places such as the Porter, the Bookhouse and the Bureau have pushed the trend, while Tap continues to showcase beer in a fine dining setting. But the two best new spots for food and beer —- Holeman and Finch Public House in Buckhead and Cakes & Ale in Decatur —- aren’t specifically beer-centered.

In a piece titled “The New American Tavern,” Bon Appetit restaurant editor Andrew Knowlton writes, “The Brits have gastropubs, the French have gastro-bistros, and now we have gastro-taverns —- smart, casual spots serving excellent drinks and modern takes on American (and global) comfort foods. Think of them as burgers-and-beer joints for the foodie crowd.”

Knowlton, who has roots in Atlanta, puts Cakes & Ale third on his Top 10 list of shining examples of the trend, writing, “This restaurant takes its name from a phrase in Shakespeare’s ‘Twelfth Night’ that signifies the good things in life.”

Send me your thoughts about the big beer stories of 2008, and what good things you’re wishing for in 2009: btowns@bellsouth.net

And if you want to enter into some lively discussions with many of Atlanta’s most provocative beer geeks, you can often find me on the Atlanta Beer Talk list forum: AtlantaBeer.com/

Bob Townsend is editor of Southern Brew News, a bimonthly beer publication distributed throughout the Southeast.

btowns@bellsouth.net