At its very core, craft beer is about variety.
Drowning in a sea of light lagers, America’s independent brewers set about to offer consumers choice, using their restless minds and boundless creativity to connect with a thirsty and curious public.
Venture down to LoDo and witness the constantly rotating 75-plus beers . Or behold the exploding number of craft-centric watering holes following its lead.
Stroll the to see the movement in all its splendor, with an estimated 700 breweries of all shapes and sizes pouring some 3,000 beers.
It is only fitting that as craft brewing continues to expand at a rapid clip, one of its tried-and-true sales packages is enjoying surging popularity — the variety pack, or mixed or sample pack.
Last year, sales of variety packs grew 19 percent, and the category accounted for 7.7 percent of dollar sales in the craft-beer market segment, according to the market research firm IRI.
The numbers continue to soar this year, with year-to-date sales up 21 percent by volume — and up a whopping 42 percent in Colorado.
reports sales of its variety 12-packs are up 23 percent year to date. says its variety-pack sales nearly doubled after it began selling mixed 12-packs of cans along with its sampler packs of bottles.
So what gives? Bart Watson, chief economist for the Boulder-based Brewers Association, the trade group for small and independent American craft brewers, offers a couple of ideas:
First, the fairly obvious: Sample packs allow beer lovers to experiment with different styles and flavors without having to purchase multiple six packs of beer. The allure has grown as brewers get more creative with their mixed packs.
Second, variety packs help beer enthusiasts looking to pair different beers and styles to the occasion, whether it’s a low-alcohol offering for watching football or to complement particular foods.
“It’s safe to say variety packs are an exciting package for both beer beginners and more knowledgeable craft consumers,” Watson said. “One reason is the variety of variety packs. You can find packs that are pretty basic all the way to packs that have the same basic beer single-hopped with different hops. In that way, they can appeal to a variety of beer lovers, regardless of where they are in their beer journey.”
Most of Colorado’s established breweries sell variety packs and have altered their approaches as times have changed.
first introduced a variety 12-pack of bottles in 2001 and did the same with cans eight years later.
Co-founder Dave Thibodeau said the idea was to introduce drinkers to a number of Ska beers at a reasonable price and create a package people could bring to social events where tastes vary.
The brewery’s move away from introducing new beers in bottles — and labor costs — prompted Ska to discontinue bottled variety packs last year, he said. The brewery continues to sell canned mixed 12-packs featuring Ska Special ESB, True Blonde and Modus Hoperandi IPA.
Shelf space is a concern for Thibodeau and other craft brewers as breweries multiply and barriers to canning fall. He notes that 12-packs, while great for consumers, eat up more space.
“I think this might lead brewers to do a number of things such as looking at more sampler six-packs, or focusing on specialty beers or limited samplers,” he said.
In 2012, introduced a second sampler pack, Big Show, to spotlight its renowned high-octane beers.
The beers rotate but the package nearly always includes Yeti Imperial Stout and Hercules Double IPA. At $25 to $26 per 12-pack of bottles, the price rivals the alcohol content of those monsters.
Great Divide sales and marketing director Anna Nadasdy said sales are growing rapidly. The brewery’s flagship variety pack, Brewers’ Picks, remains one of Great Divide’s best-sellers but growth has slowed a bit this year with all the new variety packs for sale, she said.
Some breweries use variety packs to give new or experimental beers a test run. Fort Collins-based Odell Brewing eased its Loose Leaf American Session Ale into a sample pack . Upslope Brewing in Boulder did the same with Thai Style White IPA, .
One trend to watch is more “co-op” sampler packs featuring beers from multiple breweries, said Eric Rode, head brewer at Tommyknocker Brewing in Idaho Springs. One of this summer’s finest offerings fit that category — Sierra Nevada’s special .
Joe Menetre, sales director for New Belgium Brewing, notes that some breweries are offering certain style themes in variety packs, grouping together beers that are hoppy, light or just plain weird.
New Belgium’s Folly variety packs offer a rotating mix of new, existing and “retro” beers, or a return of discontinued brands.
“We are a creative bunch,” he said, ” and are always thinking about different ways to change our beer drinking experiences.”
Eric Gorski: 303-954-1971, egorski@denverpost.com or twitter.com/egorski
