Breweries
Industry Profile Report
Dive Deep into the industry with a 25+ page industry report (pdf format) including the following chapters
Industry Overview Current Conditions, Industry Structure, How Firms Operate, Industry Trends, Credit Underwriting & Risks, and Industry Forecast.
Call Preparation Call Prep Questions, Industry Terms, and Weblinks.
Financial Insights Working Capital, Capital Financing, Business Valuation, and Financial Benchmarks.
Industry Profile Excerpts
Industry Overview
The 9,700 production breweries in the US include about 155 national or international breweries producing over 6 million barrels per year. Around 260 are regional craft breweries producing between 15,000 and 6 million barrels annually. More than 2,000 microbreweries produce less than 15,000 barrels per year. An additional 3,400 brewpub restaurants and 3,800 taprooms also produce beer on-site.
Competition Among Breweries
The beer industry is highly competitive, with a proliferation of craft and large/non-craft breweries fueling competition.
Industry Highly Regulated
The beer industry is highly regulated at both the state and federal levels.
Industry size & Structure
The average brewery employs 7 workers and generates over $3 million in annual sales.
- The US brewing industry includes approximately 9,700 production breweries. About 155 are national or international breweries producing over 6 million barrels per year. Around 260 are regional craft breweries producing between 15,000 and 6 million barrels annually. More than 2,000 microbreweries produce less than 15,000 barrels per year. An additional 3,400 brewpub restaurants and 3,800 taprooms also produce beer on-site.
- The typical global brewery brews 100 million barrels annually, with revenue per barrel of approximately $125 (a barrel is 31 gallons).
- The top three global breweries – Belgium-based AB InBev, Netherlands-based Heineken, and China Resources Snow Breweries – commanded nearly half (47.5%) of the global beer market in 2022. Imports account for about 23% of the US beer market.
- Regional craft breweries include Boston Beer Company, Sierra Nevada, and New Belgium. These breweries typically distribute nationally and often internationally. The 260-or-so regional breweries produce around 15 million barrels of beer annually.
- The nation's 2,035 microbreweries produced 17.5% of craft beer industry production volume in 2022.
- About 3,219 brewpubs produce 1.4 million barrels of beer each year.
- Per capita, Americans consume about 28 gallons of beer annually. North Dakota, New Hampshire and Montana lead the nation in beer consumption with more than 40 gallons per capita. New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and Utah consume the least with about half that amount per capita.
Industry Forecast
Breweries Industry Growth
Recent Developments
Nov 13, 2024 - Producer and Retail Prices Rising
- The Producer Price Index for breweries, which measures prices before reaching consumers, rose 1.4% in September compared to a year ago after rising 2.4% in the previous September-versus-September annual comparison, according to the latest US Bureau of Labor Statistics data. The Consumer Price Index for beer at home, a measure of prices at the retail level, rose 4.7% year-over-year in September and 0.4% compared to August. September’s 5.7% increase in the CPI for beer away from home trailed total alcohol away from home (up 6.4%). Meanwhile, employment by breweries grew 3.5% YoY in September, according to the BLS.
- With beer consumption in the US at its lowest level since the 1990s, breweries are looking for ways to grow and boost sales. An October report on the US beer industry from Research and Markets points to the rising demand for premium and new beer flavors, as well as a growing online sales, as future drivers of sales for the US brewing sector. According to the report, the US beer sector is forecast to grow by $28.3 billion between 2023-2028, “driven by demand for premium beers, online presence and innovative flavors” while “accelerating at a CAGR of 4.61%.” The latest data from a Beer Marketers’ Insight (BMI) report also identified growing demand for low-alcohol beer and an increase in partnerships and mergers and acquisitions among beer vendors as growth drivers in the beer market.
- Hopes for resurgent summer beer sales failed to materialize, with August domestic beer shipments down 7.7% compared to a year ago, the second worst month of the year, according to the latest data from the Beer Institute (BI). August’s poor performance extended what's been a dismal year for beer, with year-to-date shipments through August down by 3.2% versus the same period last year. While August compared favorably to March, which saw a 16.1% plunge in domestic beer shipments, it was the fifth negative monthly annual comparison in 2024. August shipments were estimated by the BI at 13 million barrels, down from 14,080,189 barrels in August 2023. 2023 saw the lowest level of beer consumed in the US in a generation, according to Beer Marketer's Insights. Given beer’s poor performance so far this year, 2024 isn’t looking any better.
- Breweries in Europe produced less beer last year, The Drinks Business reported in August. In 2023, breweries in EU countries produced 34.3 billion liters of beer, about 5% less than the previous year, data has shown. Of that total, 32.5 billion liters contained alcohol, while 1.8 billion liters were low- and no-alcohol beer. The bright spot was the production of low- and no-alcohol beer, which rose 13.5% over 2022 levels, illustrating the continued impressive growth of the low- and no-alcohol beer category across Europe. Germany was the top EU-producing country with 7.2 billion liters of beer, nearly a quarter (22.3%) of the total EU production. The beer scene in the US resembles that in the EU, with overall US beer production and imports down 5% last year, according to the Brewers Association, while sales of non-alcoholic beer surged.
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