Six of the 10 largest Brewers Association-defined (BA) craft breweries recorded volume declines in 2024, according to data from the trade group’s May/June edition of The New Brewer magazine.
Overall craft beer production declined 4% last year, to 23.1 million barrels of beer. Volume for the largest craft breweries, regional breweries (those producing more than 15,000 barrels annually sold primarily through distribution), outperformed the overall segment, declining 3%, with smaller regional breweries leading growth and top producers dragging trends.
The largest craft breweries – No. 1 D.G. Yuengling & Son and No. 2 Boston Beer Company – both shed hundreds of thousands of barrels from 2023 to 2024.
Yuengling’s production declined 8%, to 2.527 million barrels, marking a loss of 232,500 barrels year-over-year (YoY). The Pennsylvania brewery held a 10.89 share of craft volume (-0.55 share points).
Boston Beer lost the most volume (320,580 barrels) of any top 10 craft brewery, with its beer portfolio, including Samuel Adams and Dogfish Head, declining 23%, to 1.104 million barrels. Boston Beer’s beyond beer products, such as Twisted Tea, Sun Cruiser and Truly Hard Seltzer, are excluded from the BA’s data set.
Boston Beer shed the most share (-1.15 share points) of any top 50 craft brewery, falling to 4.76% in 2024, down from 5.91% in 2023.
Sierra Nevada ranked third by annual production volume and returned to growth in 2024, increasing production 2% YoY, to more than 1.065 million barrels (+15,757 barrels). The Chico, California-headquartered craft brewery’s production was flat in 2023 following back-to-back years of single-digit declines. The company grabbed the second-highest share gain in craft, picking up 0.24 share points to 4.59% share.
No. 4 Tilray Brands was the third top-five brewery to decline six-figures in volume, losing 114,000 barrels YoY. Tilray, whose craft portfolio includes SweetWater, Green Flash, Alpine, Montauk and craft brands acquired from Anheuser-Busch InBev and Molson Coors, produced an estimated 783,000 barrels of beer in 2024, a 13% YoY decline. Tilray’s share of craft volume fell to 3.38% (-0.34 share points) in 2024.
Duvel USA-owned Firestone Walker’s output declined an estimated 15,000 barrels, to 480,000 barrels last year, ranking it No. 5 overall. 2024’s 3% decline was in line with declines in both 2022 and 2023.
With the addition of volume from Boulevard Brewing and Brewery Ommegang to Firestone Walker’s output, Duvel’s volume totaled 647,000 barrels, giving it a 2.79% share (+0.04%) of craft volume last year.
No. 6 Gambrinus, maker of Shiner and Trumer Pils, continued its streak of single-digit declines that dated back nearly a decade. The company lost an estimated 3% in volume, to 453,859 barrels. From the company’s 2015 peak of 605,000 barrels, it has shed more than 151,000 barrels. Nevertheless, Gambrinus managed to gain share, climbing to 1.9% share (+0.03%).
No. 7 Matt Brewing Co. added 20,662 barrels last year, a 5% increase YoY, to 403,367 barrels. Those gains follow double-digit growth in 2023 (+57%) and 2022 (+33%). Since 2021, Matt Brewing, whose portfolio includes Saranac, Utica Club and Flying Dog, has gained 220,167 barrels of volume and now holds a 1.74% share of craft volume (+0.15).
Non-alcoholic beer maker Athletic Brewing posted the largest YoY percentage growth (+55%), barrelage gain (+141,500 barrels) and share growth (+0.65, to 1.72%) as the company fell 500 barrels shy of 400,000 barrels in 2024, making it the eighth-largest craft brewery. Athletic has grown from 8,800 barrels in 2019, posting 50% growth in 2023, 65% growth in 2022 and 177% growth in 2021.
Brooklyn Brewery gained nearly 9,000 barrels in 2024, growing 3%, to 358,568 barrels of beer. The New York brewery ranked ninth overall, and continued a post-COVID growth streak that started in 2021 (+18%) and saw double-digit gains in 2022 (+28%) and 2023 (+20%).
Monster Brewing, the rebranded CANarchy Craft Brewery Collective, rounded out the top 10, posting consecutive double-digit volume declines (-12% in 2024, following -31% in 2023). Monster’s portfolio, which includes Cigar City, Oskar Blues, Deep Ellum, Perrin Brewing, Squatters and Wasatch, lost 35,282 barrels YoY, to 303,286 barrels in 2024.
Since acquiring CANarchy in 2022 for $330 million in cash, the craft beer platform has shed 196,714 barrels of beer. Monster’s other bev-alc brands, The Beast flavored malt beverage and Nasty Beast hard tea, are excluded from BA data.
Look for additional coverage of craft brewery volumes next week.