Millennials distaste for a cold one is a threat to the beer industry

Beer before liquor? Not for millennials.

The makers of Corona, Modelo and Samuel Adams are seeing especially declining sales thanks to a shift in taste by younger generations.

On Monday, Goldman Sachs downgraded Boston Beer Company (Samuel Adams, Angry Orchard) from “neutral” to “sell” and Constellation Brands (Corona, Modelo) from “buy” to “neutral.”

It also projects the overall beer market in the US to decline by 0.7 percent in 2017.

By contrast, penetration of wine and spirit sales held steady in 2016, and marijuana use is on the rise.

“We view the shift in penetration and consumption trends as driven by a shift in preferences in the younger cohorts,” chief Goldman Sachs analyst Freda Zhuo wrote Monday. “The youngest demographic (younger than 35 years old) overall penetration rates are not increasing. The 35- to 44-year-old cohort shows a shift away from Beer to Wine & Spirits.”


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