From the Brewers Association:
Jobs, on-premise sales, and the number of operating craft breweries continue to grow
Boulder, CO — The Brewers Association (BA)—the trade association representing small and independent American craft brewers1 —today released annual production figures for the U.S. craft brewing industry.2
The number of operating craft breweries continued to climb in 2023, reaching an all-time high of 9,683, including 2,071 microbreweries, 3,467 brewpubs, 3,900 taproom breweries, and 245 regional craft breweries. The total U.S. operating brewery count was 9,812, up from 9,730 in 2022. Throughout the year, there were 495 new brewery openings and 418 closings. Openings decreased for a second consecutive year, with the trend reflecting a more mature market. The closing rate increased in 2023 but continued to remain relatively low, at approximately 4%.
Driven by the growing number of breweries and a continued shift to hospitality-focused business models, craft brewers directly employed 191,421 people in 2023, a 1.1% increase from 2022.
“2023 was another competitive and challenging year for small and independent brewers,” said Bart Watson, vice president of strategy and chief economist of the Brewers Association. “Nevertheless, even as growth has downshifted, small brewers have proved quite resilient, as seen in the increase in number of breweries, relatively low closing rates, and gains in onsite sales and jobs.”
Collectively, small and independent brewers produced 23.4 million barrels of beer in 2023, a decline of 1.0% from 20223, though craft’s overall beer market share by volume grew to 13.3%, up from 13.1% in 2022 as craft’s declines were smaller than overall beer volume losses.
The overall beer market* shrank 5.1% by volume in 2023. Retail dollar value was estimated at $28.6 billion, representing a 24.5% market share and 3% growth over a comparable value in 2022. Sales growth was stronger than volume primarily due to pricing but also due to slightly stronger onsite sales growth versus distribution.
“As always, the beverage alcohol market and consumer demand continue to evolve,” added Watson. ”Many brewers are accordingly updating their operations to match those changes, focusing on their business models, go-to-market strategies, and brand strategies to help their businesses match those shifts.”
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 2023, 40 were small and independent craft brewing companies.4
“While distribution is as competitive as ever, we continue to see success stories and pockets of growth across the top 50 list,” said Watson. “Even in an era of slow growth, the strongest brands still resonate with beer drinkers, regardless of company size or location.”
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
Shiner, Berkeley
TX, CA
6
Tilray Beer Brands
Atlanta, Montauk, San Diego, Bend, Seattle, Portland, Breckenridge, Patchogue
GA, NY, CA, OR, WA, OR, CO, NY
7
Artisanal Brewing Ventures
Downingtown, Lakewood, Brooklyn
PA, NY, NY
8
Brooklyn Brewery
Brooklyn
NY
9
Monster Brewing
Longmont, Tampa, Salt Lake City, Comstock, Dallas
CO, FL, UT, MI, TX
10
Athletic Brewing Company
Milford
CT
11
New Glarus Brewing Co
New Glarus
WI
12
Deschutes Brewery
Bend
OR
13
Matt Brewing Co
Utica
NY
14
Gordon Biersch Brewing Co
San Jose
CA
15
Allagash Brewing Company
Portland
ME
16
Georgetown Brewing Co
Seattle
WA
17
Great Lakes Brewing Company
Cleveland
OH
18
Harpoon Brewery
Boston
MA
19
Stevens Point Brewery
Stevens Point
WI
20
Three Floyds Brewing
Munster
IN
21
Pittsburgh Brewing Co
Pittsburgh
PA
22
Rhinegeist Brewery
Cincinnati
OH
23
Narragansett Brewing Co
Pawtucket
RI
24
August Schell Brewing Company
New Ulm
MN
25
Odell Brewing Co
Fort Collins
CO
26
Craft ‘Ohana (Maui/Modern Times)
Kihei, San Diego
HI, CA
27
Troegs Brewing Co
Hershey
PA
28
Fiddlehead Brewing
Shelburne
VT
29
Minhas Craft Brewery
Monroe
WI
30
Kings & Convicts Brewing
San Diego
CA
31
Alaskan Brewing Co.
Juneau
AK
32
Kona Brewing Hawaii
Kailua-Kona
HI
33
Abita Brewing Co
Covington
LA
34
Creature Comforts Brewing Co.
Athens
GA
35
Great Frontier Holdings
Eugene, Portland
OR, OR
36
BrewDog Brewing Co
Canal Winchester
OH
37
Summit Brewing Co
St. Paul
MN
38
Jack's Abby Brewing, LLC
Framingham
MA
39
Revolution Brewing
Chicago
IL
40
Montucky Cold Snacks
Bozeman
MT
41
Saint Arnold Brewing Co
Houston
TX
42
Lost Coast Brewery
Eureka
CA
43
Surly Brewing Company
Minneapolis
MN
44
Rogue Ales Brewery
Newport
OR
45
United States Beverage LLC
Salt Lake City, Elmsford
UT, NY
46
Shipyard Brewing Co
Portland
ME
47
Pizza Port
Carlsbad
CA
48
Coronado Brewing Co
Coronado
CA
49
Drake's Brewing Co
San Leandro
CA
50
IndieBrew
Atlanta, Nashville
GA, TN
Showing 1 to 50 of 50 entries
Top 50 Overall Brewing Companies
Rank
Company
City
State
1
Anheuser-Busch Inc
St. Louis
MO
2
MolsonCoors
Chicago
IL
3
Constellation
Chicago
IL
4
Heineken USA
White Plains
NY
5
Pabst Brewing Co
Los Angeles
CA
6
Diageo
Norwalk
CT
7
D. G. Yuengling and Son Inc
Pottsville
PA
8
FIFCO USA
Rochester
NY
9
Kirin-Lion
Fort Collins, Comstock
CO, MI
10
Boston Beer Co
Boston, Milton
MA, DE
11
Sierra Nevada Brewing Co
Chico
CA
12
Duvel Moortgat USA
Paso Robles, Kansas City, Cooperstown
CA, MO, NY
13
Gambrinus
Shiner, Berkeley
TX, CA
14
Mahou San Miguel
Grand Rapids, Boulder
MI, CO
15
Tilray Beer Brands
Atlanta, Montauk, San Diego, Bend, Seattle, Portland, Breckenridge, Patchogue
GA, NY, CA, OR, WA, OR, CO, NY
16
Artisanal Brewing Ventures
Downingtown, Lakewood, Brooklyn
PA, NY, NY
17
Brooklyn Brewery
Brooklyn
NY
18
Monster Brewing
Longmont, Tampa, Salt Lake City, Comstock, Dallas
CO, FL, UT, MI, TX
19
Sapporo-Stone Brewing
Escondido
CA
20
Athletic Brewing Company
Milford
CT
21
New Glarus Brewing Co
New Glarus
WI
22
Deschutes Brewery
Bend
OR
23
Matt Brewing Co
Utica
NY
24
Gordon Biersch Brewing Co
San Jose
CA
25
Allagash Brewing Company
Portland
ME
26
Georgetown Brewing Co
Seattle
WA
27
Great Lakes Brewing Company
Cleveland
OH
28
Harpoon Brewery
Boston
MA
29
Stevens Point Brewery
Stevens Point
WI
30
Three Floyds Brewing
Munster
IN
31
Pittsburgh Brewing Co
Pittsburgh
PA
32
Rhinegeist Brewery
Cincinnati
OH
33
Narragansett Brewing Co
Pawtucket
RI
34
August Schell Brewing Company
New Ulm
MN
35
Odell Brewing Co
Fort Collins
CO
36
Craft ‘Ohana (Maui/Modern Times)
Kihei, San Diego
HI, CA
37
Troegs Brewing Co
Hershey
PA
38
Fiddlehead Brewing
Shelburne
VT
39
Minhas Craft Brewery
Monroe
WI
40
Kings & Convicts Brewing
San Diego
CA
41
Alaskan Brewing Co.
Juneau
AK
42
Kona Brewing Hawaii
Kailua-Kona
HI
43
Abita Brewing Co
Covington
LA
44
Creature Comforts Brewing Co.
Athens
GA
45
Great Frontier Holdings
Eugene, Portland
OR, OR
46
BrewDog Brewing Co
Canal Winchester
OH
47
Summit Brewing Co
St. Paul
MN
48
Jack's Abby Brewing, LLC
Framingham
MA
49
Revolution Brewing
Chicago
IL
50
Montucky Cold Snacks
Bozeman
MT
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 2023 industry analysis will be published in the May/June 2024 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 decreased 5%.
1An 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 a brewer according to the rules of alternating proprietorships. Independent: Less than 25% of the craft brewery is owned or controlled (or equivalent economic interest) by a beverage alcohol industry member that is not itself a craft brewer. Brewer: Holds a Brewer’s Notice issued by the Alcohol & Tobacco Tax & Trade Bureau, or its successor, or control the intellectual property for one or more brands of beer, has that brand or brands brewed for it in the United States, and have as its primary business purpose the resale of the brand or brands it controls.
2Absolute figures reflect the dynamic craft brewer data set as specified by the craft brewer definition. Growth numbers are presented on a comparable basis.
3Volume by craft brewers represents total taxable production.
4Figure based on companies that met the craft brewer definition for all or part of 2023.
0 comments (click to read or post):
Post a Comment
Please leave a comment...I do moderate each comment so it may not appear immediately...and please be nice! You can also comment using Disqus (below) or even comment directly on Facebook (bottom).