Beer is big business in the United States. Americans spent $34 billion on these alcoholic beverages in the last year, or about a third of the budget that they dedicate to water purchases.
That beer spending total didn’t improve much from the prior year, but there was lots of jockeying among competitors within that flat overall result. The craft beer segment, for example, is slowing sharply and putting pressure on Boston Beer (NYSE: SAM) and its once-dominant Sam Adams brand.