How Imported Beers Are Competing in Today's Marketplace | First Key Consulting

As America’s craft brewing scene blossomed three or four decades prior, upstart brewers and intrepid beer drinkers paid lip service to the brewing traditions of Germany, the U.K., and Belgium. Imported beer offered flavorful differentiation, leading Americans away from the light lagers that dominated the landscape.

Now America counts nearly 9,000 breweries that churn out every inconceivable fermentation. It’s tough to convince someone crushing hard seltzers and smoothie-style fruited IPAs to try a traditional Belgian saison. “Five or 10 years ago, there was a lot of demand for classic representations of these styles from Europe,” says Matthias Neidhart, the owner of B. United International, a Connecticut importer. “People are moving into different experiences.”

For First Key Consulting, I look at how foreign breweries are changing time-tested tactics to stay relevant in a fast-pivoting marketplace punched by the pandemic.