Americans drink less beer.
That's not entirely something that can be blamed on Kid Rock and the boycott of Bud Light he inspired. Americans, especially younger ones, have shifted to hard seltzers, ready-to-drink cocktails, and other other beverages.
Still, beer sales were not helped by the Rock-led boycott of Anheuser-Busch InBev's (BUD) -) Bud Light. The singer, who heavily embraced the right-wing agenda during the Donald Trump presidency got outraged when Bud Light partnered with transgender social media influencer Dylan Mulvaney.
Related: Key service provider shares Chapter 11 bankruptcy fate
This was not some sort of massive advertising campaign. The beer maker simply sent Mulvaney Bud Light cans with her face on them to celebrate her first year living as a woman so she could promote the beer to the LGBTQ+ community.
Rock was really outraged by the idea that Anheuser-Busch wanted to expand its reach into the LGBTQ+ community by partnering with a transgender woman. He posted a video on social media where he shot up cases of Bud Light and that inspired a massive boycott of the brand that dragged sales down by over 25%.
It was the rare successful boycott largely because it was easy enough for beer drinkers who agreed with Rock. People could easily substitute Coors Light, Miller Lite, or the new top-selling beer, Modelo for Bud Light while continuing to act outraged over the Mulvaney promotion.
But, some Bud Light drinkers, and some newly-legal drinkers, as well as other beer drinkers simply switched away from beer. That dragged down Anchor Brewing, one of the best-known independent beer brands, which liquidated in July and it has claimed a number of regional brewers.
Another regional brewery files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy
A number of local and regional breweries have filed for bankruptcy in 2023. That's at least partially because overall interest in beer has fallen.
Now, Flying Fish Brewing Co., a Pennsylvania brewery that operates in South Jersey, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection after a deal fell apart that would have seen the company sold to Cape May Brewing Co.
Flying Fish "listed $1.3 million in assets and $9.3 million in liabilities in its Chapter 11 petition, which was filed in late December in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in New Jersey. The company is owned by Elk Lake Capital, a capital investment firm in Scranton that acquired Flying Fish in 2016," the Philadelphia Inquirer reported.
The company has multiple creditors and reported $1.3 million in assets along with $9.3 million in liabilities.
Flying Fish distributes beer to New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, and Maryland.
The company has not said how the Chapter 11 filing would impact its operations and did not comment on the Inquirer's story.
Beer is having a bad year
While the Bud Light boycott hurt Anheuser-Busch InBev, it's hard to know if some of that beer's drinkers simply opted for other beverages. It's more likely that Bud Light fans moved to other beers and the beverage's overall declines are due to changing consumer habits on a broader level.
This was the lowest level of beer consumption in a generation, according to info from Beer Marketer's Insights. That's because younger generations appear to be embracing beverages that aren't beer.
Coca-Cola (KO) -), for example, embraced ready-to-drink cocktails featuring its namesake brand for the first time in 2023. That started with the company bringing Jack Daniels and Coke to stores in ready-to-drink cans in May.
“We are excited to introduce the quintessential Jack & Coke cocktail to consumers in a consistent, convenient, and portable format,” said Jack Daniel's RTD Brand Director Dallas Cheatham.
In many ways, this trend follows what Starbucks (SBUX) -) did with coffee. It won new customers by offering sweeter drinks that taste less like coffee. Many of these new RTD cocktails and the entire hard seltzer movement follow that model, which suggests that beer sales may not recover and that has nothing to do with Bud Light or Kid Rock.
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