196 | Business World Magazine |
Aug/Sep 2013
President Fred Matt explains, “Few compa-
nies in our industry, or any industry, survive
long enough to celebrate a 125th Anniver-
sary and we want to say ‘Thank You’ to the
consumers who helped make that possible.”
In fact, this is already a thankful time for
many in the industry because beer shipments
have bounced back brilliantly following sev-
eral years of decline exacerbated by the reces-
sion. Last year, in what was the reversing of
a three year trend, national beer shipments
totaled more than 13 million barrels, almost
two million barrels more than that shipped
in 2011. That increase in demand, as well as
so much of the buzz brewed in the beer in-
dustry right now, isn’t attributed to the gal-
loping of any Clydesdales, or silver bullet ex-
press, or commercial exploits concerning he
deemed as the world’s most interesting man
– no – industry analysts and trade organiza-
tions like the Brewers Association uniformly
agree that it is the artisanal expertise of craft
beer producers which has not only elevated
beer sales, but has excited and enticed an
entirely new market of potential through
the proffering of new flavors and it in this
capacity that Matt Brewing Company out-
performs its competition. One testament to
