Despite estimated production volume declines of 4%, craft brewers are feeling confident halfway through 2026, according to the Brewers Association’s (BA) mid-year report.
More than half (55.45%) of Brewers Association (BA) defined regional craft breweries beyond the top 50 recorded production volume declines in 2025, but there are still signs of improvement compared to 2024, according to annual data shared last week by the trade group.
The top 50 Brewers Association-defined craft breweries once again posted results as diverse as their portfolio mix these days, according to 2025 production data shared Friday by the trade group.
Over the last two years, 1,072 craft breweries have shuttered, while 817 new breweries opened. Speaking to Brewbound following Tuesday’s release of the Brewers Association’s (BA) Industry Production Report, staff economist Matt Gacioch zeroed in on the brewery opening number.
Beneath the surface of craft beer’s 2025 production decline (-5.1%, to nearly 21.86 million barrels) were power moves, usurpings and stumbles among the industry’s top 50 breweries, which the Brewers Association (BA) released today.
A majority of U.S. consumers still want expanded beer home delivery options, according to the sixth annual Direct-to-Consumer (DTC) Beer Shipping Report, commissioned by Sovos ShipCompliant and the Brewers Association (BA).
U.S. beer shipments did a 180 in February, increasing 0.2% year-over-year (YoY) after a 1 million barrel loss in January, according to the latest report from the Beer Institute (BI).
Brewers Association president and CEO Bart Watson believes the Craft Brewers Conference works best when it’s “the big-tent event that everybody is coming to and connecting with.” On the latest edition of the Brewbound Podcast, Watson explained that he views the largest annual gathering of craft brewers (April 20-22 in Philadelphia) in four buckets.
Members of the American Cider Association (ACA) elected two new and four returning representatives to the trade group’s board of directors last month.
U.S. brewers shipped nearly 1 million fewer barrels year-over-year (YoY) in January 2026, according to domestic tax paid shipment data shared by the Beer Institute. Shipments topped 9.6 million barrels in January, a 995,677-barrel decline from the nearly 10.6 million barrels shipped at the start of 2025.
Cans may be maxing out their share of packaged craft products, Brewers Association (BA) staff economist Matt Gacioch wrote in a recent analysis of 2025 trends.
Check out news items initially reported in the Brewbound Insider Newsletter March 9-11, including headlines from Boston Beer, Black Frog, The Brewers Association and more.
The Beer Institute (BI) has tapped Chris MacArthur as its new director of federal affairs, the trade group announced Tuesday. MacArthur joins the BI from the office of Rep. Dan Newhouse (R-WA) – who owns a hop farm and represents a district that includes Yakima Valley – where he served as a senior adviser. In that role, he supported Newhouse on appropriations, national security and agricultural policy.
Beer wholesalers appear to be slightly more optimistic about the category through the first two months of 2026 compared to the start of 2025, according to the latest Beer Purchasers’ Index (BPI) from the National Beer Wholesalers Association (NBWA).
The CHEERS Act is back for another round in Congress. The bipartisan legislation would provide a tax incentive to bars, restaurants and entertainment venues to invest in energy-efficient draft systems.
Following the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling Friday to strike down President Donald Trump’s implementation of tariffs on imported goods, the president said he would invoke an additional 10% global tariff and bumped that figure up to 15% on Saturday.
The Brewers Association (BA) slashed nearly every line in its 2025 expenses, but the cuts were still not enough to offset declining revenue, according to the trade group’s annual report.
