US ‘craft’ beer retains share as volumes fall, research shows

GlobalData

Wed, Apr 16, 2025, 2:50 AM 2 min read

Craft brew accumulation successful the US declined successful 2024, though its marketplace stock by measurement remained “essentially flat”, according to information from the Brewers Association.

The commercialized group, which represents tiny and autarkic brewers successful the US, reported trade brew output dropped to 23.1 cardinal barrels past year, 4% little than 2023.

Despite the measurement decline, trade brew maintained a 13.3% stock of the wide brew market, the aforesaid level arsenic successful 2023, the Brewers Association said.

The broader US brew marketplace besides contracted, with full volumes down 1.2% successful 2024.

According to Brewers Association unit economist Matt Gacioch, trade brew is simply a “mature market”, which means “not each twelvemonth is going to beryllium defined by important growth”.

He added: "While advancement whitethorn not travel successful further accumulation volume, it tin inactive travel successful honing operations, concern practices, and world-class beer."

Last week, US President Donald Trump authorised a 90-day suspension of reciprocal tariffs for much than 75 countries – excluding China – portion maintaining a baseline 10% tariff connected each US imports.

“Small brewers are already grappling with rising constituent costs, shifting user preferences, and accrued contention successful a saturated market,” Gacioch warned.

“Tariffs connected imported brewing equipment, alloy kegs, aluminium cans, and cardinal ingredients specified arsenic hops and malt lone exacerbate these fiscal pressures.”

“These added costs tin beryllium peculiarly challenging for tiny and autarkic breweries, which often run connected choky nett margins. As a result, galore are forced to hold enlargement plans, rise prices, oregon sorb losses – further compounding the headwinds already challenging the trade brew industry.”

The retail dollar worth of trade brew accrued by 3% to an estimated $28.9bn, accounting for 24.7% of the full brew marketplace successful retail dollar sales.

In 2024, determination were 9,612 operating US trade breweries, including 1,934 microbreweries, 3,389 brewpubs, 3,695 taproom breweries, and 266 determination trade breweries.

Brewers Association said the fig of unit employed successful the US trade brewing assemblage roseate 3% to 197,112 successful 2024, driven by a displacement towards hospitality-focused models specified arsenic taprooms and brewpubs.

The full fig of US breweries fell to 9,680 from 9,747 successful 2023, with 434 openings and 501 closures.

Brewers Association said that marked the archetypal diminution successful the fig of operating trade breweries since 2005.

Although openings declined for the 4th consecutive year, “reflecting a maturing and highly competitory industry”, the closure complaint remained comparatively debased astatine astir 5%, the commercialized assemblage added.