If you invited me to a barbeque this summer, you may have noticed that I was rummaging through the variety of beers you had out for the occasion. I’ve been walking the beer aisles at my local grocery stores, too, even though I’m really not much of a beer drinker. No—it was all necessary research for a story on trends in the beer industry for Shopper Marketing. My story, “Beer Buyers Thirst for Local, Value,” ran this month and gives the low down on shoppers’ beer buying habits. 

I had experts tell me that more and more people are entertaining at home and offering high-end beers to their guests, but it is always nice when I realize that is exactly what I’m seeing when I visit friends’ houses. Local brews are in and more and more shoppers are willing to shell out a little extra for a great beer. The flip side is also that economy beers are doing a little better because of—well—the economy. That and a little extra advertising. Now that the story is done, you can read it here. You can also rest assured that the next time you invite me over, I won’t be reading all the labels on your beer.

 A story I wrote on financial incentives for fleets purchasing hybrid vehicles is online now. View the story on Transport Topics’ Web site here.