Recession? What Recession?

While the industry lamented a lame January, one beacon of strength in the industry remains the craft brewers, defying the conventions of the recession like a bowling ball running up hill. Craft volumes were up 12.1% in IRI all-channel scans for the four weeks ending January 24. And the gains were pretty steady. Sierra Nevada up 8%, Sam Adams up 1.2%, Sam Seasonal up 18%, Fat Tire up 17% with a big two buck a case price increase, Shiner up