
When coffee shops stop selling coffee and start selling beer, what will that mean for the country’s wine industry?
Beer drinkers are now increasingly going out of their way to buy their favourite craft beers in Australia.
Photo: Michael Clayton-Jones The trend, which has been described as “crazy” by industry insiders, has forced many Australian breweries to start selling their craft beers online and at venues where customers can sit.
The impact is now reaching even larger, as more Australian pubs have opened in the past year.
“We have a population that likes craft beers, we have a market that likes them and we’re going to see more of it,” said John Molloy, co-founder of beer-focused business Molloys Brewery.
“If you’re going out to a restaurant and you go to a bar that has a good craft beer selection, that’s going to sell.”
The trend has been dubbed “crazy”, but beer drinkers are happy to drink craft beers at home if they want.
In the past few years, craft beer has become more popular in Australia than wine, according to the Beer Institute of Australia.
“The Australian craft beer industry has been growing, and has had a great year in the last year,” Mr Molloyer said.
“It’s really exciting to see that it’s become so big, but there are some things that need to be fixed in the craft beer sector.”
But for the beer industry to take advantage of this trend, more breweries need to start making beer in their own production facilities, he said.
Mr Molls Brewery, which is based in the Sunshine Coast, has been operating out of a warehouse for the last six years, and the beer it makes is often made at a brewery.
Mr Marlborough said it would be nice to see Australia’s beer industry diversify and become more craft-friendly.
“You can’t really be a craft beer fan and a wine fan at the same time,” he said “It doesn’t make any sense.”
“I think we need to change the way we think about beer and we need more craft beer in Australia.”
The Beer Institute says the Australian craft market is now worth $8 billion, and that the sector will grow by $5 billion by 2020.
The average cost of a single bottle of craft beer is $30, according the Beer Industry Association.
The industry says it is making progress, with craft beer making up $4 billion of the total global craft beer market in the second half of this year.
But Mr Millson said Australia’s craft beer scene is not growing fast enough.
“Australia is going to be a big market by 2020 and then the beer is going be gone,” he he said, “and it’s not going to grow very fast because the supply is going down.”
What do you think?
Should craft beer be made in Australia?
Is this the future of the beer market?
Is it good or bad?
Let us know what you think in the comments section below.