Boulder, Colo. — As 2024 involves an in depth, the Brewers Affiliation (BA)—the not-for-profit commerce affiliation devoted to small and unbiased American craft brewers—recaps a yr of decelerated development and continued honing of choices.
Within the BA’s midyear survey, craft noticed a barely extra important estimated decline in manufacturing (-2%) in comparison with the complete yr 2023 knowledge (-1%). There have been no important year-over-year (YOY) variations in gross sales quantity share by channel, and one distributed channel didn’t overtake one other, suggesting a steadiness between the place shoppers are buying and the place breweries are supplying.
Within the second half of the yr, Q3 scan knowledge instructed weaker efficiency than the primary half of the yr, although there was some deceleration of declines in current intervals. This implies a full-year quantity which may be weaker than the midyear estimate.
“Craft has been going by way of a painful interval of rationalization as demand development has slowed and retailers and distributors look to simplify their choices or add choices for taste and selection outdoors of the craft class,” mentioned Bart Watson, vice chairman of technique and membership, Brewers Affiliation. “That mentioned, breweries have reacted to those adjustments by specializing in distribution, persevering with to innovate of their taprooms and brewpubs, creating teams and partnerships, and providing a wider vary of drinks of their portfolios.”
Right here’s a take a look at the highlights defining the 12 months in Beer.
Craft Beer by the Numbers
- Rely: The variety of small and unbiased breweries in operation within the U.S. in 2024 totaled 9,736.
- Openings and Closings: All year long, the BA has tracked 335 new brewery openings and 399 closings. Regardless of the slight decline within the variety of breweries in operation, closings stay a low proportion of whole working breweries.
- Employment: The craft beer trade supported practically 460,000 jobs nationwide, fostering native economies and creating alternatives.
- Financial Influence: Craft beer’s contribution to the U.S. financial system reached a powerful $77.1 billion, demonstrating its very important function within the broader beverage market.
2024’s Hottest Market Tendencies
- Non-Alcohol Beer Growth: With the rising demand for aware ingesting, non-alcohol beer gross sales soared (scan {dollars} up 30%+ year-over-year from January by way of October) as brewers refined their strategies to ship flavor-packed choices.
- Focus: After years of unfettered innovation ruling the trade, brewers are focusing extra on constructing off of merchandise and fashions the place they’ve discovered success.
- Hospitality: Breweries embraced new methods to emphasise the client expertise, from providing numerous eating choices, cocktails, and aware ingesting choices to family-friendly actions corresponding to menus for youths to paint.
Main Occasions of 2024
- Nice American Beer Pageant®Opens in new window (GABF®): October’s GABF welcomed greater than 40,000 attendees and featured 2,500+ beers from 500+ breweries, highlighting the very best American craft beer, ciders, ready-to-drink cocktails, exhausting teas, and kombuchas.
- World Beer Cup®Opens in new window (WBC): Often called “The Olympics of Beer,” the 2024 WBC evaluated 9,300 entries with breweries from 37 nations vying for world recognition.
- Beer Weeks: Communities throughout the U.S. celebrated American Craft Beer Week®Opens in new window in Might, strengthening the bond between breweries and their followers.
Trying Forward
Because the craft beer panorama evolves, the trade is poised for an additional difficult yr in 2025, with further uncertainty, potential tariffs and rising prices, retailers and distributors seeking to simplify choices, and potential new dietary tips for beverage alcohol. Market pressures will seemingly result in continued consolidation and alliances to chop prices and make the most of extra capability.
“Brewers are experiencing vital challenges on the crossroads of a high-cost surroundings paired with slowing development,” mentioned Watson. “To develop in 2025, brewers should do what they do finest: adapt. In addition they might want to proceed to do the exhausting work to search out methods to inform their story and differentiate their manufacturers in opposition to the competitors.”
For a deeper dive into 2024 and predictions for 2025, BA members are invited to attend the “Ten Factors and Predictions for 2025” webinar on Thursday, December 19 at 11:00 a.m. MT with Vice President of Technique and Membership Bart Watson and Workers Economist Matt Gacioch. Register right here.
In regards to the Brewers Affiliation
The Brewers Affiliation (BA) is the not-for-profit commerce affiliation devoted to small and independentOpens in new window American brewers, their beers, and the neighborhood of brewing fans. The BA represents 5,600-plus U.S. breweries. The BA’s unbiased craft brewer seal is a broadly adopted image that differentiates beers by small and unbiased craft brewers. The Brewers Affiliation organizes occasions, together with the World Beer Cup®, Nice American Beer FestivalOpens in new window®, Craft Brewers ConferenceOpens in new window® & BrewExpo America®, Nationwide Homebrew CompetitionOpens in new window, and American Craft Beer WeekOpens in new window®. The BA publishes The New BrewerOpens in new window® and Zymurgy® magazines, and Brewers Publications® is the main writer of brewing literature within the U.S. Beer lovers are invited to be taught extra in regards to the dynamic world of craft beer at CraftBeer.comOpens in new window® and about homebrewing through the American Homebrewers AssociationOpens in new window®. Observe us on Fb, Instagram, and LinkedIn.
The Brewers Affiliation is an equal alternative employer and doesn’t discriminate on the premise of race, shade, nationwide origin, gender, faith, age, incapacity, political opinions, sexual orientation, or marital/familial standing. The BA complies with provisions of Govt Order 13672 and the foundations, laws, and related orders of the Secretary of Labor.
