The Fall of Beer

A recent Gallup poll has found that many Americans are starting to favor liquor and spirits as their drink of choice over the ever-popular beer.  The poll shows that in the early 1990s, over 70% of Americans chose beer over any other alcoholic beverage - unlike today where the poll shows a dramatic drop to only 40% of people choosing beer. (I guess this may seem surprising to those of us in the industry who thought that trendy craft beers were on the rise, not the decline.)

While many of you may think "so what," you have to understand the repercussions of this.  The 90s and early 2000s saw a dramatic rise in craft breweries making small batch and craft beers.  In turn, you can now find hundreds of different selections of beers made by independent companies all over your liquor store shelves that are readily available to anyone.  But over the last few years, the alcohol industry had started to see the trends shift to a different area of beverages.  As the poll shows, liquor has started to become ever more popular among the masses.

As example, small batch bourbons have made a huge impact in the liquor industry with new companies starting to sprout up all over the United States.  Brands such as Maker's Mark have felt the effects of this and were considering watering down their product in order to make more whiskey to meet demands.   While we can't assume that this occurs overnight, it does require the alcohol industry to keep in tow. And places like us have to take this into consideration when deciding what to add and take off our menu.

As evidenced by the dramatic changes to the restaurant this summer, we like to "keep up with the times!" Either way, you'll always find that our bar has a plentiful selection of beers, wine, liquor, and most any other spirit you can imagine. So no matter what public demand cries for, we're positive that the Uptown will always be able to answer that call!