Beer sales, which made up 56% of the U.S. market for alcoholic beverages in 1999, slipped to 53.2% by last year and continue to decline as wine and hard liquor sales increase. Future signs for the beer business are not good. <br />
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A Morgan Stanley study found that spirits — rather than beer — have become the most popular drink choice among the 21-to-27-year-old set.<br />
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While talking lizards, farting horses and mud-wrestling babes have evoked laughs in commercials, they haven’t prevented the erosion of beer’s market share. Meanwhile, spirits companies’ marketing has expanded and is aggressively targeting key demographic groups in a manner that has made cocktails and wine the hip glamour drinks.<br />
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Symbolizing the cultural sea change that is altering beer’s national market potential is this fact: In Chicago between 1990 and 2004 the number of neighborhood tap rooms — beer havens all — has dropped by 60%.<br />
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Read more at <a href="http://www.adage.com/"><strong>AdAge</strong></a>
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