Vibe Conference's breakout session, “Why Beer is Still Big Business," brought together distributors, suppliers, and operators to discuss the forces reshaping the beer category and where it's headed in 2026 and beyond. The session included:
- Ari Opsahl, CEO, Outlaw Light
Brian Lebredo, Director of Beverage, Texas Roadhouse - Kimberly McKinnish, Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, National Beer Wholesalers Association (NBWA)
The Data Is Better Than You Think
The recent narrative around beer has focused on declines and lost market share, but the real story may be a lot more positive.
The NBWA shared a variety of data around beer consumption, and they opened with a chart that gave an overall impression of the on-premise industry. It showed consumers spent over $1 trillion on food and beverage away from home in 2025, eclipsing the spend on food and beverage at home.
In addition to that, on-premise beer sales actually grew in 2025 (14.8% versus 14% in 2024), picking up share from off-premise retail. On-premise beer purchases increased by roughly $300 million year-over-year (+2.6%), while off-premise fell $2.3 billion (-3.9%).
Draft—one of the on-premise's unique selling points for beer—told an even more encouraging story. Kegs gained 4.5 share points within on-premise package mix in 2025, representing a $596 million gain for draft. Draft now accounts for 55% of on-premise beer dollars, up from 50.6% the prior year.
There are also more beer drinkers today than a decade ago — over 10 million more adults drank beer in the past 30 days in 2025 compared to 2015, per Scarborough Research. The rate of beer drinkers as a share of the 21+ population has held steady at 41.7%. The problem isn’t the size of the audience. The problem is winning the occasion.
"The money right now is in social channels," said McKinnish. "Sometimes it feels like it's harder to sell beer, and I think that's because success is really not just defined by volume alone. Now it's about winning the right occasions."
The Pricing Model Is Broken
Price sensitivity also comes into play when considering beer consumption. Outlaw Light’s Opsahl was direct: Beer got too expensive, the premiumization cycle has been overcooked, and the industry is now paying for it in lost volume and, more dangerously, lost drinkers.
“I think we’ve pushed an entire generation of future beer drinkers away from the category because of price," said Opsahl.
His argument: beer was historically the most affordable, most sessionable option at the local liquor store. That was its identity and its gateway function. Today, some 24 packs of beer compete on price with a bottle of quality vodka. A beer at a neighborhood bar can cost the same as a margarita. Those comparisons didn’t used to exist — and they’re driving consumers to make different decisions.
He pointed to a widely circulated industry analysis arguing the pricing model for beer is structurally broken — that major brewers have prioritized EBITDA per barrel and quarterly earnings reports over category health, hiding volume declines behind revenue-per-unit figures. His view: That’s a model with a limited runway.
Texas Roadhouse’s Lebredo echoed this from the operator side. His restaurant has built a value-oriented beer program as a deliberate counterweight to price creep. The goal: give guests a quality, ice-cold beer at a price that doesn’t require them to choose between the beer and something else on the menu.
The practical takeaway for on-premise operators: Beer’s value proposition is its strongest competitive differentiator right now — but only if the pricing reflects that positioning. If a beer costs as much as a mixed drink, the beer loses on price every time.
The Community Deficit: What Beer Has Lost and Needs Back
Beyond pricing, Opsahl identified a second structural problem: the industry’s disconnection from local communities.
Beer was built community by community by sponsoring local events, supporting causes, showing up at the grassroots level. The centralization of marketing functions, the consolidation of field sales teams, the shift toward national media buys and consistent brand themes (“this brand is for sports, this brand is for golf”) has hollowed out the local presence that made beer culturally relevant.
For on-premise operators, this is a partnership opportunity as much as a critique. The brands willing to show up locally — to staff training events, to neighborhood promotions, to operator-driven programming — are the ones worth prioritizing.
How Texas Roadhouse Sells Beer
Texas Roadhouse sells a lot of beer — consistently, profitably, and at scale. The approach is worth understanding in detail because it reflects a discipline that many on-premise programs have drifted away from.
Brand recognition over trial
Texas Roadhouse’s beer program is built on brands the guest already knows and trusts. The menu philosophy is what Brian called the “first date mentality”: guests don’t want to look uninformed at a restaurant, so they gravitate toward brands they recognize. Stocking unfamiliar brands, even high-quality ones, doesn’t drive beer revenue — it drives hesitation.
The 18-month lifecycle
Any new beer brand gets 18 months to prove itself. That means consistent presence in local grocery and liquor stores, measurable velocity, visible brand investment, and a distributor relationship that shows up and supports the operator. After 18 months, if a brand hasn’t demonstrated those markers, it comes off.
Owner autonomy within a framework
Texas Roadhouse doesn’t mandate brands from headquarters. Individual operators choose what goes on draft and in package within a curated framework — which means regional relevance matters. A brand that resonates in Texas may not move in New England. The program accounts for that.
Sessionability above all
Every beer on the menu has to answer the same question: does it make the food the star? Their model is built around ice-cold, easy-drinking, sessionable beer that complements their menu without asking guests to think too hard. Craft experimentation, complex flavor profiles, and premium positioning are not what they’re buying for. The occasion is a steak or ribs dinner with friends — and the beer should feel inevitable, not aspirational.
What This Means for On-Premise Operators
The overarching takeaways for on-premise beverage leaders:
- Beer is a growth channel right now. On-premise beer sales grew in 2025 while retail declined. Your venue is where the category wins.
- Draft is the highest-margin, highest-engagement format. Invest in it and talk about it actively. It’s the best sampling tool you have.
- Price your beer to win. A beer that costs the same as a cocktail will lose the beer occasion. Value positioning is not a compromise — it’s a competitive strategy.
- Trust-based brands drive velocity. Guests who trust a brand order faster, with less hesitation, and come back. Prioritize recognized brands and give new entrants a structured 18-month window to prove their worth.
Keep an eye out for more recaps of our Vibe Conference sessions!
Contact us now to secure your program for the 2027 Vibe Conference:
Elliot Howell, Sales Director, ehowell@questex.com
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