Just how much craft beer volume isn’t considered craft by the Brewers Association (BA)?
Large regional breweries that fall outside of the BA’s definition of a craft brewer collectively produced more than 8.64 million barrels of beer in 2021, a +2% increase on a comparable basis, according to data provided by the trade organization. The BA excludes companies that are at least 25% owned by a larger brewing company from its craft brewery data set and sets a production ceiling for BA-defined craft brewers at 6 million barrels.
2021 marked a turnaround for large regional breweries outside of the BA’s craft brewery definition, following the -5% decline, to 8.2 million barrels, in 2020, which included pandemic-related shutdowns of nearly the entire on-premise channel.
Those breweries include craft breweries such as New Belgium and Bell’s Brewery, which were acquired by Kirin-owned Lion Little World Beverages; Heineken-owned Lagunitas; Sapporo-owned Anchor Brewing; Mahou San Miguel-owned Founders Brewing and Avery Brewing; and those craft breweries collected by Anheuser-Busch InBev, Molson Coors, Constellation Brands and FIFCO USA.
New Belgium, which has been one of the best growth stories in craft, driven by the IPA-heavy Voodoo Ranger series, surpassed the 1 million barrel threshold in 2021, producing a company record 1.08 million barrels, an +11% increase from 2020’s 975,000 barrels. 2021 marked the second consecutive year of double-digit growth for the Fort Collins, Colorado-based brewery.
Comstock, Michigan-based Bell’s Brewery, which founder Larry Bell sold to Lion last year prior to his retirement, fell outside of the BA’s craft brewer definition for the first time. In 2021, Bell’s production increased +5%, to 490,000 barrels, nearly matching its peak production of 494,081 barrels in 2019.
A-B Craft Breweries Combine to Produce 2.72 Million Barrels
Anheuser-Busch InBev’s craft beer brands collectively grew production +3% on a comparable basis, to more than 2.72 million barrels. A-B’s single largest craft brewery, Chicago’s Goose Island, declined -2%, to 465,000 barrels. Since reaching its peak output of 605,000 barrels in 2016, Goose Island has shed 140,000 barrels.
A-B’s Elysian Brewing continued to post year-over-year double-digit volume growth. The Seattle, Washington-based brewery grew +10%, to 330,000 barrels, a new high for the maker of Space Dust IPA.
California ‘s Golden Road declined -4%, to 230,000 barrels, in 2021. Although Golden Road declined 10,000 barrels last year, the company hovered at 240,000 barrels in 2019 and 2020.
North Carolina’s Wicked Weed posted the strongest growth of any A-B craft brewery, increasing its output +39%, to 97,000 barrels, a new high for the brewery.
Oregon’s 10 Barrel (+9%, to 125,000 barrels), Colorado’s Breckenridge Brewery (+5%, to 110,000 barrels), Arizona’s Four Peaks (+10%, to 145,000 barrels), Virginia’s Devils Backbone (+6%, to 85,000 barrels) and Texas’ Karbach (+7%, to 176,000 barrels) all recorded growth years. Meanwhile, New York’s Blue Point declined -4%, to 75,000 barrels, while Ohio’s Platform Beer Co. stayed flat at 22,500 barrels.
The double-digit decline continued for national brand Shock Top, with volume dipping -17% in 2021, to 200,000 barrels. Since 2014, the Belgian-style wheat beer has lost 700,000 barrels.
The Craft Brew Alliance rollup of brands, which includes Kona, Widmer, Redhook, Wynwood, Appalachian Mountain, and Cisco Brewers, among others, increased production +8% on a comparable basis, to 660,000 barrels. Recall that A-B and CBA were required to divest of Kona’s operations in Hawaii in order to satisfy regulators, so the 2021 data set only includes Kona’s mainland production for A-B.
Kona’s production in Hawaii in 2021 amounted to 100,000 barrels, according to the BA. Those 100,000 barrels were included within the BA-defined craft brewery data set. PV Brewing — the investment firm made up of former A-B president Dave Peacock and Overland Park, Kansas-headquartered family office VantEdge Partners — closed on a deal for Kona’s Hawaii operations in October 2020.
Molson Coors Craft Brands +2%, Blue Moon and Leinekugel’s Grow in ’21
Overall, Molson Coors’ craft brands increased production +2% in 2021, to more than 2.695 million barrels.
Molson Coors’ Blue Moon brand family — the top-selling craft beer brand in the off-premise channel — eked out +1% growth in 2021, with 1.825 million barrels produced. Blue Moon returned to growth after three consecutive years of declines. Since 2015, when Blue Moon had its best year with 2.225 million barrels, the brand has lost 400,000 barrels.
Oregon’s Hop Valley, which Molson Coors took national last year, increased production +10%, to 110,000 barrels.
Molson Coors’ second largest craft brand, Leinenkugel’s, increased volume +5%, to 575,000 barrels, in 2021. Since 2015, when Leinenkugel’s produced 1 million barrels of beer, the brand has lost 425,000 barrels in that span.
Georgia’s Terrapin (+3%, 97,500 barrels), Texas’ Revolver (+4%, to 31,650 barrels), and Michigan’s Atwater (+4%, 16,000 barrels) each posted low-single-digit growth.
Just one Molson Coors craft brand, the now defunct Saint Archer Brewing, declined in 2021, -27%, to 40,000 barrels.
Post-Portfolio Reshaping, Lagunitas Hangs Around 900,000 Barrels
After topping the 1 million-barrel mark in 2018 and 2019, Lagunitas’ production in 2020 fell to 950,000 barrels (-11%) and 900,000 barrels in 2021 (-5%). Lagunitas discontinued several offerings in late 2020 in order to focus its efforts on its portfolio of IPAs, non-alcoholic offerings and Disorderly TeaHouse sparkling hard tea.
Founders Posts Lowest Output Since 2018
Mahou San Miguel’s craft beer brands Michigan’s Founders Brewing and Colorado’s Avery Brewing combined declined -7%, to 595,575. Founders accounted for the bulk of the decline (-9%), shedding 52,000 barrels to 540,000 barrels last year, its lowest total since 2018’s 563,179 barrels, and down from its peak of 592,000 barrels in 2020.
Avery Brewing declined -6%, to 45,575 barrels, in 2021, continuing a slide that began in 2018.
Anchor Returns to Growth in 2021
Following three consecutive years of declines, Sapporo-owned Anchor Brewing increased production +45%, to 72,500 barrels, last year.
Funky Buddha Drives Constellation Craft Growth
Constellation Brands’ remaining craft breweries posted mixed results, with Florida’s Funky Buddha growing +15%, to 43,500 barrels, last year, while Texas’ Four Corners declined -34%, to 10,500 barrels. Overall, Constellation’s craft beer production was up +1%, to 54,000 barrels.
FIFCO USA Craft Volume Cut in Half
FIFCO USA, which has deemphasized its craft breweries in recent years to focus on flavored malt beverages such as Seagram’s Escapes, saw its beer barrelage cut in half, declining -54%, to 29,000 barrels. Magic Hat production declined -53%, to 14,000 barrels, while Pyramid Brewing declined -53%, to 15,000 barrels. FIFCO moved production of Magic Hat from Burlington, Vermont, to the Genesee Brew House in Rochester, New York, in June 2020.