Here at the Brewers Association (American Craft Beer Week HQ), we constantly evaluate and scrutinize over ways to fulfill our mission of promoting and protecting small and independent craft breweries. American Craft Beer Week (ACBW) is one ways we work to share what is so exciting about the businesses and craftspeople who have helped reshape the United States’ beer culture.
Since 2006, we have celebrated ACBW in May, but has it really made a difference? I’d like to think so! Our hope is that the events that have been held during ACBW have opened the eyes of thousands of people who never knew what craft beer was or what beer could be. Do I have any proof—not a ton—but here’s one example of the ACBW reach.
Googling Craft Beer
A colleague recently shared the Google Trends tool with me. He specifically wanted to show the growth of the search term “craft beer” over the years. It seems that around the summer of 2009, the term really started to take off, and the trend has been nothing short of exponential ever since.
For those who look to either marginalize the term, or purport that the term has “jumped the shark,” I invite you to check out the chart below. While internet searches don’t necessarily reveal long term success, the trend certainly seems to prove the growth in the interest of craft beer.
So what does all this mean in relation to the success of ACBW? One would guess that the spikes seen in the chart would be seen due to major holidays like Fourth of July, Memorial Day (usually at the end of May)—and many of the smaller ones do—but can you guess which month each of the largest spikes correlate to (without rolling over them first)?
Starting in 2009, each of the largest spikes for “craft beer” on Google Trends are in May, the same month as ACBW. I firmly believe and am proud that ACBW seems to be doing its part to help expose the amazing beverage of craft beer to drinkers across the globe.
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