From the Brewers Association:
Boulder, CO — The Brewers Association (BA)—the trade association representing small and independent1 American craft brewers—today released annual production figures for the U.S. craft brewing industry.2 In 2021, small and independent brewers collectively produced 24.8 million barrels of beer and realized 8% growth3, increasing craft’s overall beer market share by volume to 13.1%, up from 12.2% the previous year.
The overall beer market* grew 1% by volume in 2021. Retail dollar value was estimated at $26.9 billion, representing 26.8% market share and 21% growth over 2020. This growth is stronger than volume primarily due to the channel shift back to on-premise, which has a higher average retail value. Craft brewers provided more than 172,643 direct jobs, a 25% increase from 2020.
“Craft brewer sales rebounded in 2021, lifted by the return of draught and at-the-brewery traffic,” said Bart Watson, chief economist, Brewers Association. “However, the mixed performance across business models and geographies as well as production levels that still lag 2019 suggest that many breweries remain in recovery mode. Add in continuing supply chain and pricing challenges, and 2022 will be a critical year for many brewers.”
The number of operating craft breweries continued to climb in 2021, reaching an all-time high of 9,118, including 1,886 microbreweries, 3,307 brewpubs, 3,702 taproom breweries, and 223 regional craft breweries. The total operating brewery count was 9,247, up from 9,025 in 2020. Throughout the year, there were 646 new brewery openings and 178 closings. Openings decreased for a second consecutive year, with the continued decline reflecting a more mature market. Ongoing pandemic challenges and rising interest rates were additional factors. The closing rate also declined in 2021, likely helped by a combination of better sales numbers and additional government relief through the Restaurant Revitalization Fund, which was available to some brewpub and taproom brewers.
“While the boom in breweries of a few years before has certainly slowed, the continued growth in small breweries shows the solid foundation of demand for their businesses and beers,” added Watson.
In addition, the Brewers Association also released its annual list of the top 50 producing craft brewing companies and overall brewing companies in the U.S., based on beer sales volume. Of the top 50 overall brewing companies in 2021, 40 were small and independent craft brewing companies.4
View and download map of top 50 producing craft brewing companies
Top 50 Craft Brewing Companies
Rank
Company
City
State
1
D. G. Yuengling and Son Inc
Pottsville
PA
2
Boston Beer Co
Boston, Milton
MA, DE
3
Sierra Nevada Brewing Co
Chico
CA
4
Duvel Moortgat USA
Paso Robles, Kansas City, Cooperstown
CA, MO, NY
5
Gambrinus
Berkeley, Shiner
CA, TX
6
Bell's Brewery, Inc
Comstock
MI
7
CANarchy
Longmont, Tampa, Salt Lake City, Comstock, Dallas
CO, FL, UT, MI, TX
8
Artisanal Brewing Ventures
Downingtown, Lakewood, Brooklyn
PA, NY, NY
9
Stone Brewing
Escondido
CA
10
SweetWater Brewing Co
Atlanta
GA
11
Deschutes Brewery
Bend
OR
12
New Glarus Brewing Co
New Glarus
WI
13
Brooklyn Brewery
Brooklyn
NY
14
Matt Brewing Co
Utica
NY
15
Gordon Biersch Brewing Co
San Jose
CA
16
Abita Brewing Co
Covington
LA
17
Minhas Craft Brewery
Monroe
WI
18
Stevens Point Brewery
Stevens Point
WI
19
Great Lakes Brewing Company
Cleveland
OH
20
Odell Brewing Co
Fort Collins
CO
21
Harpoon Brewery
Boston
MA
22
Summit Brewing Co
Saint Paul
MN
23
Allagash Brewing Company
Portland
ME
24
Troegs Brewing Co
Hershey
PA
25
Georgetown Brewing Co
Seattle
WA
26
Three Floyds Brewing
Munster
IN
27
Athletic Brewing Company
Stratford
CT
28
Rhinegeist Brewery
Cincinnati
OH
29
Kona Brewing Co
Kailua-Kona
HI
30
August Schell Brewing Company
New Ulm
MN
31
Alaskan Brewing Co
Juneau
AK
32
Narragansett Brewing Co
Pawtucket
RI
33
Rogue Ales Brewery
Newport
OR
34
Kings & Convicts Brewing/Ballast Point
San Diego
CA
35
Flying Dog Brewery
Frederick
MD
36
Long Trail Brewing Co
Bridgewater Corners
VT
37
Lost Coast Brewery
Eureka
CA
38
Revolution Brewing
Chicago
IL
39
Surly Brewing Company
Minneapolis
MN
40
Ninkasi Brewing Co
Eugene
OR
41
Creature Comforts Brewing Co
Athens
GA
42
21st Amendment Brewery
Bay Area
CA
43
Maui Brewing Co
Kihei
HI
44
Saint Arnold Brewing Co
Houston
TX
45
Scofflaw Brewing Co
Atlanta
GA
46
Shipyard Brewing Co
Portland
ME
47
Left Hand Brewing Company
Longmont
CO
48
Modern Times Drinks
San Diego
CA
49
Fiddlehead Brewing
Shelburne
VT
50
North Coast Brewing Co Inc
Fort Bragg
CA
Showing 1 to 50 of 50 entries
Top 50 Overall Brewing Companies
Rank
Company
City
State
1
Anheuser-Busch Inc (a)
St. Louis
MO
2
MolsonCoors (b)
Chicago
IL
3
Constellation (c)
Chicago
IL
4
Heineken USA (d)
White Plains
NY
5
Pabst Brewing Co (e)
Los Angeles
CA
6
Diageo (f)
Norwalk
CT
7
D. G. Yuengling and Son Inc
Pottsville
PA
8
FIFCO USA (g)
Rochester
NY
9
Boston Beer Co (h)
Boston, Milton
MA, DE
10
Sierra Nevada Brewing Co
Chico
CA
11
New Belgium Brewing Co / Kirin (I)
Fort Collins, San Francisco
CO, CA
12
Duvel Moortgat USA (j)
Paso Robles, Kansas City, Cooperstown
CA, MO, NY
13
Founders Brewing / Mahou San Miguel (k)
Grand Rapids, Boulder
MI, CO
14
Gambrinus (l)
Berkeley, Shiner
CA, TX
15
Bell's Brewery, Inc (m)
Comstock
MI
16
CANarchy (n)
Longmont, Tampa, Salt Lake City, Comstock, Dallas
CO, FL, UT, MI, TX
17
Artisanal Brewing Ventures (o)
Downingtown, Lakewood, Brooklyn
PA, NY, NY
18
Stone Brewing
Escondido
CA
19
SweetWater Brewing Co (p)
Atlanta
GA
20
Deschutes Brewery
Bend
OR
21
New Glarus Brewing Co
New Glarus
WI
22
Brooklyn Brewery
Brooklyn
NY
23
Matt Brewing Co (q)
Utica
NY
24
Gordon Biersch Brewing Co
San Jose
CA
25
Abita Brewing Co
Covington
LA
26
Minhas Craft Brewery (r)
Monroe
WI
27
Stevens Point Brewery (s)
Stevens Point
WI
28
Great Lakes Brewing Company
Cleveland
OH
29
Odell Brewing Co
Fort Collins
CO
30
Harpoon Brewery
Boston
MA
31
Summit Brewing Co
Saint Paul
MN
32
Allagash Brewing Company
Portland
ME
33
Troegs Brewing Co
Hershey
PA
34
Georgetown Brewing Co
Seattle
WA
35
Three Floyds Brewing (t)
Munster
IN
36
Athletic Brewing Company
Stratford
CT
37
Rhinegeist Brewery
Cincinnati
OH
38
Kona Brewing Co
Kailua-Kona
HI
39
August Schell Brewing Company (u)
New Ulm
MN
40
Alaskan Brewing Co
Juneau
AK
41
Narragansett Brewing Co
Pawtucket
RI
42
Rogue Ales Brewery
Newport
OR
43
Kings & Convicts Brewing/Ballast Point
San Diego
CA
44
Flying Dog Brewery
Frederick
MD
45
Long Trail Brewing Co
Bridgewater Corners
VT
46
Lost Coast Brewery
Eureka
CA
47
Anchor Brewing Co / Sapporo USA (v)
Tarrytown, San Francisco
NY, CA
48
Revolution Brewing
Chicago
IL
49
Surly Brewing Company
Minneapolis
MN
50
Ninkasi Brewing Co
Eugene
OR
Showing 1 to 50 of 50 entries
Note: Numbers are preliminary. For additional insights from Bart Watson, visit Insights & Analysis on the Brewers Association website. The full 2021 industry analysis will be published in the May/June 2022 issue of The New Brewer, highlighting regional trends and production by individual breweries.
* Does not include FMBs/FSBs. With those included, total taxed-as-beer products increased 2%.
1 An American craft brewer is a small and independent brewer. Small: Annual production of 6 million barrels of beer or less (approximately 3% of U.S. annual sales). Beer production is attributed to the rules of alternating proprietorships. Independent: Less than 25% of the craft brewery is owned or controlled (or equivalent economic interest) by an alcoholic beverage industry member that is not itself a craft brewer. Brewer: Has a TTB Brewer’s Notice and makes beer.
2 Absolute figures reflect the dynamic craft brewer data set as specified by the craft brewer definition. Growth numbers are presented on a comparable basis. See full methodology.
3 Volume by craft brewers represents total taxable production.
4 Figure based on companies that met the craft brewer definition for all or part of 2021.
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