The reception for U.S. craft beer has been so positive in China that the Brewers Association is sending more.
The BA first sent a “mixed container” in February. It contained beers from Brooklyn Brewery (New York), North Coast Brewing (California) and Rogue Ales (Oregon).
Another order was placed in May, including beers from two additional companies Kona Brewing Company (Hawaii) and Gordon Biersch Brewing (California).
Gordon Biersch president Dan Gordon said: “It really is remarkable that American craft beer is one of the few American consumer goods that are desired in China. Gordon Biersch is very excited to ship beer to China and I personally plan on working the market.”
The mixed container export concept began in 2005 with a research study on China’s craft beer market funded by the United States Department of Agriculture’s Emerging Markets Program, a program funded by the USDA. This study was used by Josh Weiner and Daniel Berkowitz to create the American Craft Beer Partners, a separate business unit of The Longboat Group, solely devoted to exporting US craft beers to China.
Bob Pease, Brewers Association Vice President says, “This first container sale marked the success of the Brewers Association mixed container export concept and it marked the opening of a vast new market for US craft beers. The immediate reaction in-country surpassed expectations.”
