Walsh says Hiller's and Busch's supermarkets began carrying Frankenmuth beers in metro Detroit a couple of weeks back. "Frankenmuth is a modest-sized player among nearly
100 microbreweries operating in the state," writes Walsh, adding that Michigan ranked fifth nationally last year in the number of craft breweries, behind only California, Washington, Colorado and
Oregon.
"All of this is happening, mind you, in a market where overall beer sales tumbled nationwide last year, dropping 1.7% in supermarkets," writes Walsh, adding that craft beer sales in those same stores jumped 14.7%, the fifth straight year of double-digit gains. Mainstream beer mega-brands Budweiser, Miller and others have lost share, he notes.
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