By DEE-ANN DURBIN
The World Cup has been a bonanza for beer in the U.S. Bars in Boston reported needing emergency deliveries to keep taps from running dry on some game days. Fans downed a total of 290,000 stadium beers during the six matches in Philadelphia, FIFA organizers said.
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But all that frothy foam obscures a cold reality: Beer sales have been struggling globally, and it’s unclear if soccer’s world championship tournament can reverse the trend despite having three countries and 16 cities as co-hosts this year.
In the U.S., beer consumption has fallen steadily for a decade, according to the Brewers Association, a trade group for craft brewers. Canada has seen a similar decline, according to the national statistics agency. The Brewers of Europe trade association says the story is the same in the European Union.
Many consumers are cutting back on alcohol for health reasons. Last year was the first time in Gallup’s polling that a majority of Americans – 53% — said drinking “one or two drinks a day” was bad for one’s health.
While sales of non-alcoholic beer have grown, they still make up only around 1% of the U.S. market, according to the Beer Institute, a trade group for brewers.
Economic worries also have taken a toll on sales. U.S. consumption of all types of alcohol – including wine and spirits – fell 5% last year, and affordability concerns were partly to blame, beverage market research company IWSR said.
Craig Purser, the president and CEO of the National Beer Wholesalers Association, said he thinks smartphones and Netflix have taken consumers away from socializing with a cold beer in hand.
“If you have this behavior where we’re cocooning and we’re not spending time with other folks, that’s going to affect beer consumption,” Purser said.
Bump in beer sales
Enter the World Cup and the soccer fans who traveled from around the world to support their national teams and engage in communal celebration or sorrow.
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In the first four weeks of the tournament, beer sales in bars, restaurants, stadiums and other venues rose 14% in U.S. host cities compared to the same period last year, according to the Beer Institute. The bump extended beyond host cities; sales were up 4% nationally, the institute said.
Jim Koch, the brewer, founder and CEO of the Boston Beer Co., which makes Samuel Adams and other brands, said the company had to make two emergency deliveries to its Sam Adams Boston Taproom on the first day that Scotland’s fans were in town.
“At one point, we were pouring them a Sam Adams Boston Lager every 12 seconds. What a wonderful group of people,” he said.
The plentiful drinking on display in stadiums stood in stark constrast to the World Cup held four years ago in Qatar, where the government banned the sale of alcoholic beer in match venues.
Brewers leaned heavily into this year’s tournament. Budweiser and Michelob Ultra maker AB InBev, the World’s Cup’s official beer sponsor, doled out marketing support to bars and hosted 200,000 watch parties in 40 countries.
Molson Coors said it would spend 60% more than last year on marketing in June and July; it also debuted a limited edition soccer ball that can hold 12 cans of Miller Lite.
Maybell Romero, a law professor at Tulane University School of Law in New Orleans, usually prefers cocktails over beer. But she says she opts for beer during the World Cup since it has lower alcohol content than liquor or wine and watching games can be an all-day affair.
“If I drink cocktail after cocktail, I will not be functional after a few hours,” Romero said.
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