5 Americans beers no logner drink

beers

 After three years of declining sales, shipments of domestically brewed beers are up more than 1% this year. Driving this uptick are sales of light beers and specialty beers -- such as Budweiser Light Platinum, Shock Top and Blue Moon.

While sales of specialty, craft and small-market beers have improved dramatically, traditional, full-calorie beers that were once the staples of most breweries have fallen behind. In the five years through 2011, sales of Budweiser -- for years the top-selling beer in the country -- have fallen by 7 million barrels.

Nine domestic beer brands saw their sales decline by at least 30% over the past five years, according to data examined by 24/7 Wall St. For some, the decline reflects consumers' changing habits; light beers increasingly have become the beverage of choice for many beer drinkers.

Despite eclipsing sales of full-calorie beers, sales of most leading light brands have been flat in recent years. The segment's growth has come mostly from specialty and craft beers.

The big brewers have fought back with their own versions of craft beers. Anheuser-Busch Inbev (BUD) introduced Bud Light Platinum with a splashy ad that debuted during the 2012 Super Bowl broadcast. Shock Top, a Belgian-style wheat ale  produced by Anheuser-Busch, has been another success.