There’s a sense of foreboding in the world of beer that the dream is deferred, if not dead, and that the Roaring Teens and Twenties are giving way to a Duff Bowl. Manifest destiny has reached the far shore, and craft beer is no longer booming.
While the craft beer world is right to pause and reckon with its changing landscape, it’s important to see just how far things have come. In 2014, craft contributed about $20 billion to the U.S. economy, per the Brewers Association.
In 2023, that number had ballooned to just over $77 billion. Furthermore, the industry also contributed “nearly 460,000 total jobs, with almost 190,000 jobs directly at breweries and brewpubs, including serving staff at brewpubs.”
We’re not seeing moonshot growth, but we’re seeing a mature, stable market firmly entrenched in modern American culture. If you want a job in the beer industry, you’re probably going to be able to find one, provided you work harder than you drink.
As is true in many arenas of life, a little gratitude can go a long way in lifting us from a collective fugue state and bringing our minds back to the baseline. So too can a reminder that hard seltzer, imports and macro brews all play a part in our beer ecosystem, bringing in new potential drinkers and opening up minds and palates to new flavors and new interpersonal connection.
So, have heart as we look at the numbers. They’re a snapshot of a living, thriving world of beer. It may lack the fire of young love, but the embers of our favorite beer category burn bright. Grab a winter warmer and join us for a dive into 2025 as we swirl the dregs of the past year.
Craft By Style
On paper, it was not the greatest year for craft beer sales. In fact, they were down by 3.3 percent. Retail channels are closing as high-ABV, expensive craft sits on shelves in the face of an economic downturn. If it doesn’t turn over quickly, it won’t last in a world dictated by spreadsheets. Plus, craft is not always shelf stable or around long enough to build brand identity. There is pressure from both retail and consumer sides for lighter beer. We’ll find out later if the numbers have begun to reflect that pressure.
Among the Craft segment’s top five biggest sellers, IPA, the golden goose, saw growth, topping out at $914 million dollar sales and accounting for just about half of all craft sales. The next three – Seasonal, Wits and Variety, are all down between 6 and 13 percent, while still making up 22 percent dollar share. So a good chunk of IPA’s growth may simply stem from a lack of desire for exploration as the pond dries up.
