Specialty Brewers Looking Overseas

As the art of craft beer brewing becomes big business, the makers of specialty ales and lagers in the United States are trying to expand their sales, and they’re looking overseas.

Some are headed to the beer halls and pubs of Western Europe where fine brews were born and where the Americans will face strong competition.

Most microbreweries by definition have remained too small to distribute outside the United States. But that’s changing, and the specialty brewers believe there’s a market abroad for their brands.

“The British aren’t going to drink Budweiser or the traditional products of large brewing companies,” said Jim Neighbors of the Institute for Brewing Studies in Boulder, Colo.

“But they do like the all-malt lagers and hoppy American ales,” he said. “And they’re interested in some of the more experimental styles like chili beers and rye ales and a variety of fruit beers.”