With the IoI economy showing signs of higher levels of growth, and with consumer confidence on the rise, Mintel expects that this will filter down to Irish consumers’ spending habits – benefiting the Irish beer market.
Indeed, on-trade beer sales were on the rise in 2014 and are forecast to continue an uphill trend in the coming year, increasing beer consumption out of home at the expense of in-home drinking.
Key themes of the report
What impact has craft beer had on the Irish beer market? – Is the craft beer market shaping on the mass-producers’ market? What are Irish consumers’ thoughts on craft beer and how well does this niche market stack up against standard beers in the eyes of consumers? What is the future for the segment?
Is in-home consumption of beer taking over out-of-home drinking? – Are Irish consumers more inclined to drink at home or in bars and restaurants? Are men still more likely to drink overall, and if so, where? How does the off-trade Irish beer market look coming into 2015?
What are Irish consumers’ preferences when choosing a beer? – Do consumers look for low-priced beer or are they more taken by the brand of a beer? Is high or low alcohol content a strong preference among Irish consumers? Are bottles still the go-to packaging type or are cans encroaching on this territory?
Is the rise in consumer confidence benefiting the Irish beer market? – How is the beer market coping with growing consumer confidence? Is economic growth and deflation causing Irish consumers to loosen their purse strings? Is the recent cut in alcohol tax in the UK expected to increase beer sales?
Other Mintel reports of relevance include:
Cider – Ireland, February 2014
Meat – Ireland, September 2014
Alcoholic Drink Packaging Trends – UK, February 2014
Irish Lifestyles – Ireland, September 2013
Beer – Ireland, June 2014
Definition
This report will examine the sale and consumption of beer throughout the island of Ireland in both the on-trade and off-trade. On-trade refers to any licensed premise that permits the sale and consumption of alcohol within these premises. Off-trade refers to any licensed retailer, including supermarkets, that sells alcohol for off-site consumption.
For the purpose of this report, the beer market is divided into three categories:
Lager can broadly be described as a light/amber, clear, carbonated beer, brewed with pale-kilned malts which, after fermentation, is filtered, pasteurised and conditioned before being packaged in cans, bottles or kegs for sale. This is, however, a very broad definition, and as consumers’ tastes become more sophisticated, there is a growing interest in darker lagers using different malts, sometimes referred to as red and black lagers, organic beers and even fruit-flavoured lagers.
Ale is sometimes referred to by consumers as mild or bitter, but the term ‘ale’ is used throughout this report. This refers to top-fermented beers that are traditionally described as British or Irish, ie bitter and mild, packaged light, pale, export and brown ales, stout, porter, barley wine and strong ales, as well as Indian and American pale ales, among others. These beers are so called because the yeast floats to the surface during fermentation, as opposed to lagers, which are bottom-fermented. Barley wine is simply a beer with a very high ABV (Alcohol by Volume).
Stout is a derivative of porter, originally an 18th century brown mild ale. Stout is a black, dense beer, which is usually top-fermented, and made with dark roasted barley and an abundance of hops, which provide the characteristic flavour.
These categories are subject to further segmentation. The main segmentations considered when discussing lager are:
Standard lagers have an ABV content of 3.4-4.1%. Examples include Stella Artois, Foster’s and Carling.
Premium lagers have an ABV of 4.2-7.5%. Most mainstream premium brands have an ABV of around 5%. They are often continental lager brands, which are positioned as better quality through their pricing, packaging and marketing.
Craft lager is an imprecise term, but craft beers are generally considered to be those made by smaller and independently owned brewers (eg Whitewater Brewing Company, Carlow Brewing).
Data sources
For the purpose of this report, Mintel commissioned exclusive online research into Irish consumers’ usage of and attitudes towards beer. The research was carried out by Toluna on behalf of Mintel in May 2015
A total of 750 internet users aged 18+ in NI and 1,250 internet users aged 18+ in RoI were asked the following questions:
“Which, if any, of the following types of beer have you drunk in the last 6 months, and where did you drink them?”
“On which of the following occasions have you drunk beer in the last 6 months?”
“We’d now like you to think about what you prefer when drinking beer. Please select one option for each of the following sets of characteristics or select ‘no preference’.”
“Still thinking about your preferences when drinking beer, what size of can or bottle would your ideal beer come in?”
“Please indicate whether you agree or disagree with the following statements about beer.”
The results from this survey are discussed in The Consumer sections of this report.
Mintel also draws consumer insight from other sources:
Mintel’s database and previous Mintel reports from the UK and Ireland.
In compiling this report, Mintel has gathered data from separate NI and RoI sources (eg NISRA – Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency and CSO – Central Statistics Office). In some cases, therefore, it has not been possible to provide comparable data for each region.
For the purpose of this report:
IoI refers to the island of Ireland.
NI refers to Northern Ireland.
RoI refers to the Republic of Ireland.
Therefore, ‘Irish consumers’ refers to both NI and RoI consumers.
