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‘Beer Is Recession Proof’

July 13, 2009 1:47 PM

(photo by Michelle San Miguel/ABC News On Campus)

ABC News On Campus reporter Matthew Nojiri blogs:

More than 5,000 people packed into Syracuse’s Clinton Square over the weekend to sample more than 300 styles of beer from 110 breweries.

The seventh annual Empire State Brewing and Music Festival is among the 10 largest beer festivals in the country, said David Katleski, the brewer who organized the event.  Participants received two-ounce glasses to sample beers from around the world.

Katleski, who also owns Empire Brewing Co. in Syracuse, said the festival comes at a good time for smaller breweries in Syracuse and across the country.  He said more people are drinking at craft breweries to avoid the steep prices of premium adult mixed drinks.

“Beer is recession proof,” Katleski said. “People tend to drink more during a down economy, oddly enough.”

It may not be quite “recession proof,” but as the Nielsen Co. reported recently, the alcohol beverage industry may be “recession resilient.” According to industry analysts at the Washington, D.C.-based Beer Institute, total U.S. beer shipments fell 1.6 percent this year through May, compared with a .6 percent gain all of last year.

Despite the overall slump in beer sales, Katleski insisted sales at smaller breweries are booming. Last year, total craft brewing sales grew nationally by 6 percent, according to the national Brewers Association. 

“We’ve seen double-digit increases for the last decade,” Katleski said. “The recession doesn’t really affect us all that much.”

Vendors at the festival echoed Katleski’s sentiments.  Ed Valenta, a brewer from Harpoon Brewery, said sales at his small Boston brewery have been up for 15 straight years.

“It’s definitely nice,” Valenta said.  “I’m not worried about losing my job, let’s put it that way.”

Craft breweries produce significantly less beer than larger manufacturers like Budweiser, Miller or Coors.   A craft brewery produces fewer than 60 barrels of beer every year, Katleski said.  Each barrel is about 31 gallons, or approximately two kegs.

While small brewers have not felt the pinch of the recession, some festival patrons said they had to think carefully before deciding to fork over either $40 in advance or $50 at the door to attend.

Patty Wilson, a 22-year-old Syracuse University graduate, said she was debating whether to save money for grad school or attend the beer festival.

“It wasn’t our country being in a recession that made me think twice,” she said. “It’s me paying for grad school.”

Wilson said her favorite beer of the night was a blackberry-flavored beer at the Samuel Adams booth.   She said being able to try a variety of new beers justified her decision to pay $40 for the festival.

“It’s a fun night,” Wilson said. “It’s definitely nice to get to try all the different types of beers.”

 As he sipped on an Indian pale ale from Harpoon Brewery, 26-year-old Michael Rozyczko said he thought the $50 door price was too high.  He said he was determined to sample as many beers as he could to make up for the cost of entering the event.

“I’m going to get my money’s worth,” he said.

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