Craft beers during the pandemic

The pandemic hit craft breweries hard and they had to develop survival techniques very quickly. After the lockdown KEG Sörművház compiled 6-10 beer packs for home tasting sessions, the participants of which gathered online with the leadership of a ‘beer guru’ to share their experiences.

“Hetedik Lépcső” has been rearranged into a specialised beer store

Sales by craft beer bars are estimated to have plunged by 50-70 percent last year. Craft breweries follow a different sales strategy than large beer companies: they sell a much bigger proportion of their beers in kegs. However, these craft breweries didn’t suffer much bigger sales loss than major breweries, thanks to their loyal customers and the decision to start offering much more of their products in bottles and cans when the pandemic hit. Craft breweries also launched their online shops sooner than originally planned and made many special offers – combined with home delivery. Monyo used the pandemic period to build a new brewery, while Szent András Brewery rolled out an experimental beer series, called Tesztandrás. //

Trends in 2021

IPA has remained to be the most popular beer variety. Hazy New England IPA and Milkshake IPA are still going strong, plus West Coast IPA and Brut IPA are also back in the game. More and more crossover beers are put on the market, such as Zichovec brewery’s New England Kölsch (a NEIPA- kölsch combination) or Matuška brewery’s New Broumy – the combination of American wheat beer and a White IPA. A growing number of breweries are making simple but top quality lagers, some of which are aged in different barrel types. //