DENVER BUSINESS JOURNAL - American craft-beer sales grew by another 8 percent in 2017, but the number of breweries that closed nationwide jumped by nearly 70 percent
The numbers show that the industry is at a point where competition is squeezing both small breweries that can’t find a foothold in crowded markets and nationally distributed breweries that are losing share to local producers.
Beer sales from smaller, independent craft breweries reached $26 billion last year, giving it a 23.4 percent share of the American beer market, according to an annual report from the Boulder-based Brewers Association, the trade group for the sector. Production volume for those breweries rose 5 percent between 2016 and 2017 to 25.4 million barrels, leaving makers of the typically more expensive beers with a 12.7 percent share of the production market.
The numbers represent positive growth at a time when non-craft-brewing interests — particularly international brewing conglomerates like Anheuser-Busch InBev and global spirits makers like Constellation Brands — continue buying formerly craft breweries, eating into craft brewing's market share, said Bart Watson, chief economist for the BA. The slower growth volume also indicates a maturing industry in which 6,260 breweries were operating at the end of last year — a 16 percent growth from 2016. Growth will become more incremental because of the larger base of production and revenue.
