Numbers Don’t Lie…

… but sometimes they mumble. Recently released data show that overall beer sales in the U.S. fell 1 percent, yet craft beer sales rose 5 percent. Craft beer is more popular than ever, accounting for almost 13 out of every 100 beers sold.

However, some of craft beer’s leading brands are stumbling. Of the nation’s five largest craft breweries, four saw sales drop between 2016 and 2017, while one merely matched that previous year’s figure.

D.G Yuengling & Sons dropped 2 percent; Boston Beer, 14 percent; Sierra Nevada, 8 percent; New Belgium held steady; and Spoetzel fell 3 percent.

Some prominent breweries prospered — for instance, Escondido’s Stone, the country’s eighth largest craft brewery, rose 15 percent.


Still, craft is navigating turbulent waters. With the number of American breweries doubling in the past five years, there’s too much competition to support the notion that a rising tide lifts all boats.

Instead, this flood tide lifts some and swamps others.

‘Animal Kingdom’

Although based on an Australian crime drama, TNT’s “Animal Kingdom” takes full advantage of its Oceanside setting. The Codys, the drug dealing/bank robbing/murdering family at the series’ center, peddle stolen goods on Oceanside Pier, plot at Tyson Street Park, cruise Coast Highway.

They also have tangled love lives and a bottomless supply of beer. Which set up a line in a recent episode:


“You’re gonna give me relationship advice?” Deran Cody (Jake Weary) asked his brother Craig (Ben Robson). “The guy who told that waitress at Bagby Beer Co. that you were getting deported because you didn’t want to have breakfast with her the next day.”

Turns out, the cast and crew are fans of Jeff and Dande Bagby’s brewpub at 601 S. Coast Highway.

“They come in and have lunch here all the time,” said Claire Van Dyke, a Bagby Beer manager.

How’d that waitress feel when she learned that Craig is undeported?


“She’s taking it OK,” Van Dyke said.

Beer-Curious, or Stuff My Editor Asks

Q. “Ales and lagers? What’s the difference?”

A. In the kingdom of beer, there are two large classes: ales and lagers. The former use top-fermenting yeast and require as little as two weeks to make; the latter, bottom-fermenting yeast and require weeks or months to produce.

Lagers tend to be smoother, with narrowly-defined flavors. Examples: pilsner, dunkel, Helles, schwarzbier. Most of the larger industrial beers — Budweiser, Miller, Coors and their light versions — are lagers. Ditto, most German imports.


Ales tend to be fruitier, with flavors that are more vivid and layered. Examples: India pale ale, pale ale, brown ale, barley wine. Craft breweries produce far more ales than lagers, although there are exceptions: Gordon Biersch, for one, focuses on lagers.

Kings of Beer

Council of Ni! (6 percent alcohol by volume) is an inside joke in a 16-ounce can, but even if you don’t grasp the pop culture gag, this Euro-Pacific mashup entertains.

A collaboration between the Council and Home breweries, Ni! is a Belgian-style wit with an unusual but appealing Scandinavian-SoCal accent. White sage from local hills provide an earthy aroma, while Norwegian yeast bolsters the beer’s spicy foundation.

Those herbal touches add zest to the wheat cracker and lemon meringue flavors.


They’re also part of the joke. In “Monty Python and the Holy Grail,” the heroes are halted by the menacing — and ridiculous — “Knights Who Say Ni!” To pass this obstacle, King Arthur and company must pass a quiz and deliver some shrubbery.

White sage, say.

Best of the Week

Two decades separate AleSmith and Bay City, yet these San Diego breweries are united this weekend — both are celebrating anniversaries.

Bay City’s third anniversary party is Saturday, noon to 10 p.m., at the tasting room, 3760 Hancock St. There’s no cover change, but look for new beer releases, including canned Bay City Pale and Vienna Lager.


AleSmith will mark its 23rd anniversary all weekend at its headquarters, 9990 AleSmith Court. Friday, 6 to 8 p.m., is the VIP preview party; Saturday, noon to 6 p.m., the party proper; and Sunday, 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 a.m., a coffee cupping session led by the roasters of Modern Times Brewery, followed by tastings of AleSmith’s java-infused Speedway Stout.

Tickets, ranging from $10 to $45 (or $80 for a Friday-Saturday pass), are available at AleSmith.com.

Words to Drink By

“Algernon is a pleasant companion. At mealtimes, he takes his place at the small gate leg table. He likes pretzels, and today he took a sip of beer while we watched the ballgame on TV. I think he rooted for the Yankees.” — from “Flowers for Algernon,” by Daniel Keyes (1927-2014). Raise a toast to Keyes, who would have turned 91 today.


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Twitter: @peterroweut


peter.rowe@sduniontribune.com