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Whole Foods gets crafty with beer

Whole Foods caters to home brewers; opens on-site microbreweries.

Carol Angrisani, Associate Editor

January 12, 2015

2 Min Read
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About 1.2 million people in the U.S. brew their own ales and lagers at home, according to the American Homebrewers Association, Boulder, Colo., a division of the Brewers Association, a craft beer trade group.

Most of these novice brewers purchase the necessary equipment and ingredients at home-brewing supply stores.

But in certain markets, they can head to their favorite food store for all their home-brewing needs. For instance, Whole Food Market’s Coddingtown store in Santa Rosa, Calif., is a fully stocked brewing supply store. Not only does it sell brewing equipment, but also bulk grains, yeast and other ingredients. It also hosts homebrewer how-to classes. Other Whole Foods stores have similar offerings.

The Whole Foods website even includes a video of the founders of the Brooklyn Brew Shop, which markets home-brewing kits:

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Meanwhile, the Austin, Texas-based chain operates its own microbrewers on site at two stores: one in Houston and another in San Jose, Calif.

In Houston, the Whole Foods Market Brewing Company has a five-barrel, two-vessel brewing system with the ability to produce about 400-500 barrels annually. Its on-site bar includes windows overlooking the tanks:

Here, the Whole Foods Market Brewing Company's Facebook page announces new flavors:

WFM's efforts come at a time when the home brewing market is on the upswing. The AHA saw a 20% growth in membership between 2005 and 2015 to 40,000 members.

I spoke with Steve Parr, the AHA’s assistant director. He told me that home brewers like experimenting with recipes to create the flavor and style of their choice.

“There’s a trend of do-it-yourself,” he said.

A demographic shift is aiding the home-brewing market, according to Parr. Once dominated by the over-30 set, there’s now significant growth among Millennials. Millennials have jumped on the home-brewing bandwagon because they like to save money, and create unique food and beverage offerings for their friends.

“Home brewing is an art form,” Parr said.

 

About the Author

Carol Angrisani

Associate Editor, Supermarket News

Carol Angrisani is an associate editor at Supermarket News. Along with covering the packaged goods beat, she also manages SN’s annual private-label and ethnic marketing supplements. Carol started working at Supermarket News in 1995 as a health and beauty care and pharmacy reporter. She’s since served in a number of other capacities, including section editor and managing editor of Brand Marketing, once a freestanding supplement to SN and currently a special section within the publication.

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