Now, in 2017 sales figures released this week by Beer Marketer's Insights, Budweiser has slipped another notch to fourth place, losing a position to Miller Lite, according to media reports including CNN Money and the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
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It’s not that Miller Lite sold a whole bunch more beer in 2017. It overtook Budweiser because its sales dropped by less than Budweiser’s.
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Many breweries that are still considered “craft” breweries — such as Boston Beer Co. (Sam Adams) and Sierra Nevada — saw their sales drop as well.
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While the national retail beer-bubble shows signs of bursting, especially for large breweries, the Dayton area’s brewery scene is rolling right along.
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Not one of the dozen or so "first-wave" breweries that opened across the Miami Valley five years or so ago have gone out of business, and in fact, nearly all have expanded their operations. And now there's a second wave of new local breweries in the works, including several gearing up to open their doors in 2018.
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It’s an interesting time to be a beer enthusiast.
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