As Gen Z cuts back on drinking, brewers have adapted to shifting consumer preferences, changing the priorities of the beer industry.
Dubbed the ‘sober generation’ Gen Z has been drinking less on average than their parents and grandparents, with one in four abstaining from alcohol entirely.
Sheffield’s annual “Beer Week” has commemorated this new lifestyle and the movement away from regional giants to smaller local breweries.
The week-long celebration holds open days, festivals and bar-tap takeovers throughout the region, as well as the unique opportunity to meet independent brewers.
Ideal Day Family Brewery attended one of these events, co-owner James Rylance said: “As a brewer and as a person, I’m far more interested in people who drink less – it’s about quality and thoughtfulness.”
Other co-owner, Nia Rylance said: “You could say Gen Z are drinking less, but I just think they’re doing everything a bit smarter – isn’t it a good thing?”
Simone Mahdi, Duty Manager at Triple Point Brewery, Sheffield said: “We had a lot of students in last night, a lot of the younger crowd has started to drink better stuff.”
Brewers have acknowledged the higher costs of craft beers and have urged buyers to take a similar ‘less is more’ approach.
Mr. Rylance added: “A pint of macro-lager is worth nothing – the drink that you forget is the waste of money.”
Simone Mahdi added: “We have varying ages, but craft beer is more expensive than your Wetherspoons, so our target audience tends to be a little bit older, when people get their student loan you get a lot more students in.”
Beer crafters stressed the importance of Gen Z supporting independent producers not just financially, but to preserve culture and tradition.
Mr Rylance said: “We’re trying to live as simple as we possibly can and that spirit is held within a lot of small producers, the people behind it are different and we hope that comes across in what we make.
“They are wonderful people who do amazing things and that is worth every penny.”
With younger drinkers prioritising quality over quantity, Gen Z has reshaped the industry, one pint at a time.