Anheuser-Busch’s craft brewing efforts draw Wall Street Journal’s notice

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Last week, I told you that sales of craft beer more than doubled between 2007 and 2012, and that big brewers like Anheuser-Busch and MillerCoors are trying to cash in on the trend, too.
This weekend, The Wall Street Journal featured Rebecca Reid, brewmaster at Anheuser-Busch InBev’s pilot brewery in St. Louis, who makes nearly 500 new beer recipes each year.
“…Ms. Reid’s efforts are increasingly critical for Anheuser-Busch, which has watched a growing number of Americans drop its giant domestic brands such as Budweiser, Bud Light and Michelob in favor of small ‘craft’ beers sprouting across the country,” the Journal states.
Beer shipments in the United States from Anheuser-Busch rose 0.6 percent last year, but the brewer’s share of the U.S. beer market dipped to from 46.8 percent to 46.3 percent, Beer Marketer’s Insights reports.
Cider also is growing in popularity. Anheuser-Busch InBev, Heineken NV and Carlsberg A/S are among the big brewers investing in cider as U.S. volume in the category grew 20 percent in 2011.