On Tuesday, the Brewer’s Association (BA) published its annual report on craft brewery growth. The report provides a snapshot of growth in dollar values, beer volume, and jobs for the craft beer industry.
In 2019, Americans spent approximately $29.3 billion on craft beer, a 4 percent increase over 2018. The volume share for craft brewers also increased, from 13 percent to 13.6 percent.
Providing more good news, output also grew last year. In 2019, craft brewers produced 26.3 million barrels of beer, almost 1 million barrels more than 2018.
As the report states, due to the presence of Covid-19 restrictions, the future of craft beer remains uncertain. This year’s numbers will provide an important metric for future industry changes.
“Although craft brewers entered 2020 on a solid foundation, the beer landscape is dramatically different today than it was just a few months ago,” said Bart Watson, chief economist, Brewers Association. “Breweries will be facing new realities due to the pandemic with extended closures, tight cash flow, societal shifts, and other economic variables in play.”
The full 2019 insights can be found here.