Malt Preferences of the Craft Brewing Industry - Agricultural ...

Respondents were queried about the appeal of a Rocky Mountain Region grownmalt for the craft brewing industry (Table 31). On the Likert scale from one to seven amean response of four (4) would express a respondent was neutral to the question beingasked. Brewers were almost neutral in their decision about the appeal of RockyMountain Region produced malt, but the responses were located toward the lower end ofthe scale indicating a slightly favorable outlook for regionally grown malt.Table 31. Appeal of a Rocky Mountain Region Produced MaltType of Brewery CategoryMean ResponseFull Sample Craft Brew RegionalBrewersMicrobreweriesBrewpubsRocky Mtn.Produced Malt 3.32 3.31 3.53 3.14 3.37In section V, respondents indicated continued growth in the craft brewingindustry. Production increased in 1996 and was expected to increase in 1997. Moreover,the largest portion of respondents indicated they believed the industry to be in the growthstages of the business cycle. This result indicates brewers believe sales and productionwill continue to increase, but at a slower (decreasing) rate, which will likely cause ashake-out of weaker firms in the industry. In accordance with the characteristics knownabout the growth phase of the industry cycle, respondents conclude the sophistication ofthe consumers in their industry will improve over time.Conclusions and implicationsCraft brewers comprise a smaller portion of the malt market as compared to largebrewers. In 1996, craft brewers held under three percent of the total beer market. Sincethese brewers do not purchase a large share of the malt produced and marketed by35