The untapped market for beer expertise gets lager day by day
Save time by listening to our audio articles as you multitaskThe growth of the “cicerone” reflects the ever increasing complexity of American beer. In recent decades, the overall consumption of beer has lost market share to wine, spirits and alcopops. Yet “craft beer” has thrived. In 1982, there were just 93 breweries across the entire country. Last year, there were 9,247, according to the Brewer’s Association, an industry group.
Some brewers are even trying to compete with wine and spirits for prestige. Samuel Adams, a craft brewer from Boston, Massachusetts, sells a beer it calls “Utopias.” The latest version is aged with cherries for nearly 30 years in bourbon and wine casks, and contains an alcohol level of 28%. Your correspondent tried some, and to his uncultured taste buds, it tastes less like beer and more like an intriguing sort of sherry. But it sells for $300 a bottle.
Both Mr Daniels and Mr Witte admit that beer will never have quite the elitist draw as fine wine. For one thing, even the most exciting beer does not store well, making it a poor speculative investment. But Mr Witte says becoming a master cicerone has cracked the possibility of tasting pairings with meals at fancy restaurants. And though few restaurants yet employ in-house full cicerones, there is stout demand for the qualification from distributors and marketing types.