What you need to know
Beer sales are levelling out with less than 1% growth forecast for lager, stout and ale projected between 2015 and 2016. Despite the slow beer market growth, craft appears to be the small bright spot keeping Irish producers still in the game. Mintel estimates 13.5% craft growth in 2016 with continued growth projected in the next number of years.
Irish consumers still show a strong preference towards traditional lager with this beer being the most popular, but craft beer also has 30% of RoI and 26% of NI consumers drinking this type in the last three months.
Value-added innovation is still a key interest among Irish consumers with over a third interested in beer aged in an oak barrel, however, it is also not enough for beer brands to market themselves as ‘premium’ if they are not willing to boost the quality. Although Irish consumers are seeking pricier beers and are willing to pay a premium for these, beer drinkers will only justify the added expense if the quality is noticeably higher in comparison to cheaper equivalents.
Issues covered in this Report
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).
