Industry Facts:

Craft Brewing Facts

• Craft brewers currently provide an estimated 108,440 jobs in the U.S., including serving staff in brewpubs.
• Growth of the craft brewing industry in 2012 was 15% by volume and 17% by dollars compared to growth in 2011 of 13% by volume and 15% by dollars.
• Craft brewers sold an estimated 13,235,917 barrels* of beer in 2012, up from 11,467,337 in 2011.
• The craft brewing sales share in 2012 was 6.5% by volume and 10.2% by dollars.
• Craft brewer retail dollar value in 2012 was an estimated $10.2 billion, up from $8.7 billion in 2011.
• As of March 18, 2013, the Brewers Association is aware of 409 brewery openings in 2012 (310 microbreweries and 99 brewpubs) and 43 brewery closings (18 microbreweries and 25 brewpubs).
• 2,347 craft breweries operated for some or all of 2012, comprised of 1,132 brewpubs, 1,118 microbreweries and 97 regional craft breweries.

Other U.S. Brewing Industry Facts

• Overall U.S. beer sales were up an estimated 0.9% by volume in 2012.
• Imported beer sales were up 1% in 2012 and up 1% in 2011.
• Overall U.S. beer sales were approximately 200,028,520 barrels and imported beer sales were 27,712,665 barrels in 2012.
• 2,403 total breweries operated for some or all of 2012, the highest total since the 1880s.

 * 1 barrel = 31 US gallons

Last updated on 3/18/2013

For additional information, the following is a list of useful government and trade association websites: