Brewers Association: Craft Volume -4% in 2024, to 23.1M Barrels; Top 50 Breweries Lists Revealed

Craft brewers’ collective production declined 4% in 2024, to 23.1 million barrels of beer produced, the Brewers Association (BA) shared today in the release of its annual craft brewing production report.

The trade group representing small and independent craft breweries described 2024’s numbers as “highlighting the new realities of a maturing market in a rapidly evolving environment.”

“In a mature market, not every year is going to be defined by substantial growth,” BA staff economist Matt Gacioch said in a press release. “While progress may not come in additional production volume, it can still come in honing operations, business practices, and world-class beer.”

Although craft’s volume declined, its market share by volume held steady year-over-year (YoY) at 13.3%, even as the overall U.S. beer market’s volume fell (-1.2%).

Craft made up nearly a quarter (24.7%) of total beer market retail dollar sales in 2024. Driven by price increases and onsite sales, the retail dollar value of craft increased 3% YoY, to around $28.9 billion.

The number of U.S. craft breweries in operation declined to 9,612 in 2024, which breaks out to:

1,934 microbreweries;
3,389 brewpubs;
3,695 taproom breweries;
266 regional craft breweries.

In 2024, 9,680 total breweries (craft and non-craft) operated in the U.S., a decrease from 9,747 in 2023.

The BA also adjusted its opening and closing numbers for 2024, with closures (501) outpacing openings (434) for the first time since 2005. The BA reported preliminary numbers in December, with 399 brewery closures and 335 openings.

The number of jobs in the craft brewing industry increased 3% versus 2023, to 197,112. The BA said the increase in jobs was due to a “shift toward hospitality-focused models such as taprooms and brewpubs, which create more jobs in local communities.”

The BA pointed to several headwinds facing craft brewers “rising ingredient costs, shifting consumer preferences, and increased competition in a saturated market. Tariffs on imported brewing equipment, steel kegs, aluminum cans, and key ingredients such as hops and malt only exacerbate these financial pressures.”

The organization added that those issues are exacerbated for small brewers operating on “tight profit margins,” leading them to “delay expansion plans, raise prices, or absorb losses.”

The BA also reported its list of top 50 craft brewing companies by sales volume, as well as its overall top 50 U.S. brewing companies. Breweries’ volume includes only beer production, excluding beyond beer products such as flavored malt beverages, hard seltzer, hard cider and ready-to-drink cocktails (RTDs).

The three largest craft breweries in the country by volume held the same positions they’ve had since 2014, when a change in the BA’s craft brewer definition brought Yuengling into the fold:

No. 1 D.G. Yuengling and Son, Inc.
No. 2 Boston Beer Company
No. 3 Sierra Nevada.

No. 4 Tilray Brands jumped two spots with the addition of Hop Valley, Revolver, Atwater and Terrapin, which the Canadian cannabis company acquired from Molson Coors in September 2024. Those four brands counted toward Tilray’s craft volume number as of September 3.

Tilray’s jump pushed both No. 5 Duvel Moortgat USA (Firestone Walker, Boulevard, Brewery Ommegang) and No. 6 Gambrinus (Shiner, Trumer) down one spot each.

Artisanal Brewing Ventures [ABV] (Victory, Southern Tier, Sixpoint) requested their production data not to be published, so the roll up was not included in this year’s craft list, Gacioch told Brewbound. ABV was No. 7 in 2023. However, ABV was listed on the overall top 50 list, ranking 21 behind Monster Brewing. That ranking would make it the 11th largest craft brewery.

No. 7 F.X. Matt Brewing (Flying Bison, Flying Dog, Saranac, Utica Club) leaped up six spots. 2024 marked the first full year in which Flying Dog belonged to Matt’s portfolio after its acquisition in 2023.

No. 8 non-alcoholic craft brewer Athletic moved up two spots after entering the top 10 last year. No 9 Brooklyn dropped one spot, as did No. 10 Monster (Cigar City, Oskar Blues, Deep Ellum, Perrin, Squatters, Wasatch).

Beyond the top 10 craft breweries, nine breweries moved up five or more spots:

No. 16 Rhinegeist, up 6 spots;
No. 17 Craft ‘Ohana (Maui, Modern Times), up 10 spots;
No. 20 Tröegs, up seven spots;
No. 23 Fiddlehead, up five spots;
No. 28 Great Frontier (Ecliptic, Ninkasi, Wings & Arrows), up seven spots;
No. 30 BrewDog, up six spots;
No. 32 Hendler Family Brewing (Jack’s Abby, Night Shift, Wormtown), up six spots;
No. 35 Saint Arnold, up six spots;
And No. 38 Pizza Port, up nine spots.

Nine breweries that cracked the list did not appear in 2023’s top 50:

No. 13 Barrel One Collective, which formed after the merger of Mass. Bay Brewing (No. 18 in 2023) and Smuttynose (No. 106 in 2023) and includes Clown Shoes, Five Boroughs, Harpoon, Long Trail, Smuttynose, UFO and Wachusett;
No. 40 pFriem Family Brewers, No. 61 in 2023;
No. 41 Fremont, No. 55 in 2023;
No. 42 The Florida Brewery, No. 64 in 2023;
No. 43 BJ’s Restaurants, which did not publish production data in 2023;
No. 44 Russian River, No. 56 in 2023;
No. 46 New Trail, No. 67 in 2023;
No. 47 Zero Gravity, No. 52 in 2023;
And No. 48 Fat Head’s, which did not publish production data in 2023.

Five breweries slid down five or more spots:

No. 19 Allagash, down six;
No. 24 Stevens Point, down five;
No. 26 Three Floyds, down six;
No. 37 Kona Hawaii, down five;
And No. 50 Rogue, down six.

In addition to ABV, breweries that were in the top 50 in 2023, but not in 2024, include:

Minhas, No. 29 in 2023;
Kings & Convicts/Ballast Point, No. 30 in 2023;
Montucky Cold Snacks, No. 40 in 2023;
Lost Coast, No. 42 in 2023;
U.S. Beverage (Uinta, St. Lawrence), No. 45 in 2023;
Coronado, No. 48 in 2023;
IndieBrew (Scofflaw, Bearded Iris), No. 50 in 2023.

The full list of top 50 craft brewers is below:

The BA also published the overall top 50 brewing companies in the U.S., including both brewers that fall within the trade group’s definition of craft, and those that do not.

The top seven brewers remained unchanged in 2024 versus 2023:

No. 1 Anheuser-Busch InBev;
No. 2 Molson Coors;
No. 3 Constellation;
No. 4 Heineken USA;
No. 5 Pabst Brewing Co.;
No. 6 Diageo;
And No. 7 D.G. Yuengling and Son.

Kirin-Lion, parent company of New Belgium and Bell’s, ranked No. 8, jumping over No. 9 FIFCO USA (Dundee, Genesee, Labatt Lime, MacTarnahan’s, Magic Hat, Pyramid). Boston Beer Company (Samuel Adams, Dogfish Head) rounded out the top 10, maintaining its overall rank versus 2023.

Sierra Nevada maintained its rank as the eleventh largest brewer, followed by No. 12 Tilray Brands, which rose three places versus 2023; No. 13 Duvel Moortgat (down one place); and No. 14 Sapporo-Stone (Sapporo, Stone, Unibroue), which rose five places YoY, from No. 19.

Mahou San Miguel (Founders, Avery) rounded out the top 15, falling one place YoY.

The largest upward move YoY among the top 50 was No. 28 Craft ‘Ohana, which rose eight places versus its 2023 ranking of No. 36. Other significant positive moves came from No. 17 Matt Brewing Co., No. 31 Tröegs Brewing and No. 39 Great Frontier Holdings, each rising six places versus their 2023 rankings; and No. 27 Rhinegeist and No. 41 BrewDog, each rising five places.

Three breweries that did not make the top 50 in 2023 cracked the list in 2024: No. 46 Saint Arnold Brewing, No. 49 Pizza Port and No. 50 Surly Brewing.

New-ish to the list was No. 24 Barrel One Collective, due to the craft portfolio company’s aforementioned formation at the end of 2024. Harpoon ranked No. 28 on the overall top 50 list in 2023.

Similarly, No. 43 Hendler Family Brewing was formed at the end of 2024, merging Jack’s Abby, Night Shift and Wormtown. Jack’s Abby ranked No. 48 overall in 2023.

Three breweries were included in 2023’s top 50, but did not make the list in 2024: Minhas (No. 39 in 2023), Kings & Convicts (No. 40 in 2023) and Montucky Cold Snacks (No. 50), the latter of which Gallo made a “strategic investment” in in mid-2024.

Breweries that remained in the top 50, but fell by at least five places versus 2023, include: