• Ad Age, Thursday, October 7, 2010 10:56 AM

It's a grim time for beer distributors, with total shipments down 2.1% for the first eight months of the year, reports E.J. Schultz. The situation is made all the grimmer because of the high jobless rates among young adult male blue-collar workers, who normally drive sales.

"People drink when they come together," Mike Rinella, of City Beverage-Illinois, tells Schultz. "And they come together less [often] when they are unemployed."

Harry Schuhmacher, editor of Beer Business Daily, told wholesalers meeting in Chicago this week that sales may drop another 2%. At the same time, he reported that sales for craft beers were up 11.3% through early September, according to SymphonyIRI data. The hottest small brewers: Brooklyn's Sixpoint Craft Ales; Georgia's Terrapin Beer Company; and Minnesota's Surly Brewing Co. (Note to copy editor: You're right. Brooklyn isn't a state. But it ought to be.)

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