Beer stats are pointing in right direction

WE CAN ALways use some good news, and today I have some: In 2022, the overall craft beer market share by volume grew to 13.2%, up from 13.1% in 2021, according to preliminary numbers from the Brewers Association (BA) — the trade association representing small and independent American craft brewers.

In addition, small and independent brewers collectively produced 24.3 million barrels of beer, which is right in line with 2021′s statistics. While the overall beer market shrank 3% in terms of volume last year, the retail dollar value was estimated at $28.46 billion — a 6% growth over last year.

“2022 presented small brewers with a number of challenges, including rising operating and material costs and increasing competition, particularly in distribution,” said Bart Watson, chief economist for the Brewers Association. “In this maturing and competitive market, collective growth for the category is hard to come by.”

Craft brewers also provided 189,413 direct jobs, a 9% increase from 2021, driven both by growth in the number of breweries and a continued shift to hospitality-focused business models.

That growth also might have stemmed from the fact that the number of operating craft breweries reached an all-time high of 9,552 in 2022. That watershed mark included 2,035 microbreweries, 3,418 brewpubs, 3,838 taproom breweries, and 261 regional craft breweries. Add in macro breweries and that Toto number operating

George Lenker Beer Nut

breweries in the country was 9,709, up from 9,384 in 2021.

New brewery openings declined for a second consecutive year, with only 549 new venues compared to 319 closings.

“The relatively low closure rate reflects both the solid demand for fuller flavored local beer as well as the versatility and flexibility of small brewers,” Watson said.

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 2022, 40 were small and independent craft brewing companies.

“Breweries that managed to move up the list organically are often those that are adding incremental growth to the category,” Watson said. “Both beer and craft need to create new occasions and new beer lovers to find growth.”

While the above statistics are preliminary figures, they seem to be mostly pointing in the right direction. The full 2022 industry analysis will be published in the May/June issue of The New Brewer, highlighting regional trends and production by individual breweries.