Beer flat at checkout counter

If brewers are crying in their suds these days, wine and spirits makers are popping the collective cork.

Beer consumption dropped 1.3 percent in 2011, according to Beverage Information Group, a market research company in Norwalk that publishes the Beer Handbook.

Beverage Information Group cited increased competition from other varieties of alcohol and the impact of the economy on core beer buyers, among factors precipitating the decline.

Consumers are gravitating to wine and spirits industries, Beverage Information Group stated, in part for varieties they are offering such as flavored vodkas, whiskey liqueurs, sweet reds and high-end blends.

Domestic beer giants have not kept pace on the innovation front, the firm added, though craft and imported beers have offset the industry’s overall U.S. decline. According to the Beer Handbook, imported beer sales increased 1.3 percent in 2011, and are projected to climb further.

Earlier this year, organizers formed a Connecticut Beer Guild to promote the craft beer cottage industry here.

“We are looking to the craft segment to continue to spur growth in the beer industry,” said Adam Rogers, a Beverage Information Group analyst, in a prepared statement. “Consumer interest is at its peak and there is unlimited potential for growth as more craft brewers enter the marketplace.”