FASHION OR TRANSFORMATION
«Craft beer is not a fashion, it is the transformation of an industry.
What is now called craft beer will be called in the future just beer.
This change has already happened in the United States "
Crafted Beer
B
eer is a product of great consumption in Portugal and of a well-established
tradition. At the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century, the
number of cafes, especially in Lisbon and Porto, was signicant, producing their
own beer locally, a development that had already started in previous centuries.
However, it is probable that there has never been a moment like the present, in which the
word beer is so much referred to and has so much projection in the media and in society
itself. But if we pay attention, we realize that it is no longer a solitary word. Comes with
another: craft. Yes, craft beer is fashionable, and certainly, it came to stay.
The exponential growth of craft beers in the Portuguese market is not an isolated
phenomenon. The craft beer movement had one of its most important moments with the
creation of CAMRA - Campaign For Real Ale in 1971 in Derry, Ireland, and its great
impulse came later in the USA in the late 1970s and early years 80. The concept of the
craft then spread to other countries and has made its way around the world a little. If in
Brazil the craft beer market would have started around 2004, in Spain we may be
talking about 2008/9 and in Portugal 2011/2.
Even before the current decade, there were some signs that artisanal beer was
beginning to be inserted into the tastes and habits of the Portuguese consumer.
According to the website http://cervejaartesanalportuguesa.pt/, there are now close to
90 active brands. Only in the last 6 months have arisen about 20 new brands of craft
beer. However, this activity still has a relatively small economic dimension, although
aggregate turnover rose from 207 thousand to 1,948 million euros between 2012 and
2014.