• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Advertise
  • About Craft Brewing Business

Craft Brewing Business

Professional Insight, Unfiltered

Craft Brewing Business Craft Brewing Business
  • News
  • Business & Marketing
  • Packaging & Distribution
  • Equipment & Systems
  • Ingredients & Supplies
  • Webinars & White Papers
  • News
  • Business & Marketing
  • Ingredients & Supplies
  • Packaging & Distribution
  • Equipment
  • Webinars & White Papers
  • COVID-19

Brewers Association announces 2013 craft brewer growth

March 18, 2014Jason Morgan

The Brewers Association (BA), the trade association representing small and independent American craft brewers, released 2013 data on U.S. craft brewing (1) growth. As a primary driver of growth in the beer industry, craft brewers saw an 18 percent rise in volume (2), representing a total of 15.6 million barrels and a 20 percent increase in retail dollar value.

In 2013, craft brewers reached 7.8 percent volume of the total U.S. beer market, up from 6.5 percent the previous year. Additionally, craft dollar share of the total U.S. beer market reached 14.3 percent in 2013, as retail dollar value from craft brewers was estimated at $14.3 billion, up from $11.9 billion in 2012.

“With this stellar year, craft has now averaged 10.9 percent growth over the last decade,” said Bart Watson, staff economist, Brewers Association. “Beer drinkers are excited about what small and independent brewers are offering and that is evidenced by the rising production and sales of the craft segment.”

Additionally, the number of operating breweries in the United States in 2013 totaled 2,822, with 2,768 of those considered craft, demonstrating that craft breweries make up 98 percent of all U.S. operating breweries. This count includes 413 new brewery openings and 44 closings. Combined with already existing and established breweries and brewpubs, craft brewers provided 110,273 jobs, an increase of almost 2,000 from the previous year.

“Openings of brewing facilities continue to far outpace closings, demonstrating that the demand for high-quality, local, fuller-flavored beers is only increasing,” added Watson. “The geographic diversity of openings and production growth shows the national nature of this movement. In towns all across the country, craft brewers are creating jobs, delivering innovative products, advancing the beverage of beer and strengthening their local economies.”

Brewers Association Brewers Growth 2013 Craft Beer

Note: Numbers are preliminary. The Brewers Association will release the list of Top 50 craft brewing companies and overall brewing companies by volume sales on March 31. Additionally, a more extensive analysis will be released during the Craft Brewers Conference in Denver from April 8-11. The full 2013 industry analysis will be published in the May/June 2014 issue of The New Brewer, highlighting regional trends and sales by individual breweries.

1 The definition of a craft brewer as stated by the Brewers Association: An American craft brewer is small, independent, and traditional. Small: Annual production of 6 million barrels of beer or less (approximately 3 percent of U.S. annual sales). Beer production is attributed to the rules of alternating proprietorships. Independent: Less than 25 percent of the craft brewery is owned or controlled (or equivalent economic interest) by a beverage alcohol industry member that is not itself a craft brewer. Traditional: A brewer that has a majority of its total beverage alcohol volume in beers whose flavor derives from traditional or innovative brewing ingredients and their fermentation. Flavored malt beverages (FMBs) are not considered beers.

2 Volume by craft brewers represent total taxable production.

San Diego selected as site for 2023 Homebrew Con
DEI-grant
BA awards DEI grants to three cool educational programs in third quarter
The Brewers Association announces CBC travel grants to its 2023 Nashville conference
Beer book: Gluten-Free Brewing: Techniques, Processes and Ingredients for Crafting Flavorful Beer

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Bev Armstrong says

    March 20, 2014 at 12:53 pm

    Bev Armstrong liked this on Facebook.

    Log in to Reply
  2. Janet Hall says

    March 20, 2014 at 12:53 pm

    Janet Hall liked this on Facebook.

    Log in to Reply
  3. April Watson says

    March 20, 2014 at 12:53 pm

    April Watson liked this on Facebook.

    Log in to Reply
  4. FourSaintsBrew says

    March 19, 2014 at 3:24 pm

    Great news from @BrewersAssoc…but we didn’t expect anything different. http://t.co/cWDSxZEDkT #ncbeer #triadbeer #craftbeer

    Log in to Reply
  5. ingrandview says

    March 19, 2014 at 1:10 am

    RT @CraftBrewingBiz: Brewers Association announces 2013 craft brewer growth: http://t.co/tgaWZBU7j4 @BrewersAssoc

    Log in to Reply
  6. brianwwright says

    March 18, 2014 at 11:54 am

    RT @CraftBrewingBiz: Brewers Association announces 2013 craft brewer growth: http://t.co/tgaWZBU7j4 @BrewersAssoc

    Log in to Reply
  7. cbusbrewadv says

    March 18, 2014 at 10:39 am

    RT @CraftBrewingBiz: Brewers Association announces 2013 craft brewer growth: http://t.co/tgaWZBU7j4 @BrewersAssoc

    Log in to Reply
  8. JWILLIAMS_303 says

    March 18, 2014 at 10:35 am

    RT @CraftBrewingBiz: Brewers Association announces 2013 craft brewer growth: http://t.co/tgaWZBU7j4 @BrewersAssoc

    Log in to Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.

Primary Sidebar

Latest News

  • Cheers to 10 Years: We should all strive to be Arizona Wilderness Brewing Co.
  • Watch famed gonzo illustrator Ralph Steadman discuss his Flying Dog beer labels
  • The all-new Papago Brewing taproom opens Friday
  • Michigan’s Dog Star Hops wins Chinook Cup for second year in a row

Sign up for our newsletter

unsubscribe from list

Most Popular Today

Recent Features

  • Arizona Wilderness BrewingCheers to 10 Years: We should all strive to be Arizona Wilderness Brewing Co.
    February 2, 2023
  • Watch famed gonzo illustrator Ralph Steadman discuss his Flying Dog beer labels
    February 2, 2023
  • Michigan’s Dog Star Hops wins Chinook Cup for second year in a row
    February 1, 2023
  • fort point both-ciders-3Fort Point Beer debuts cider line, explains why ciders instead of seltzers
    January 31, 2023
  • Watch a drone release insects over hop yards for sustainable pest control in this Yakima Chief Hops video series
    January 30, 2023
  • Distro update: Connecticut’s Two Roads Brewing goes to Colorado + news from Surreal, New Sarum and more
    January 30, 2023

Footer

  • Email Newsletter Sign Up
  • About Craft Brewing Business
  • Contact Us
  • Advertise on Craft Brewing Business
  • Media Kit Download
  • Privacy and Terms

© 2023 · CBB Media LLC