The U.S. craft beverage market showed two different patterns in 2024: craft beer remained a large, broad-based category, while craft spirits contracted in both volume and value. Brewers Association industry figures put craft beer retail value at an estimated $28.8 billion, while the ACSA 2025 Craft Spirits Data Project reported $7.58 billion in craft spirits sales.
Contents
- Craft beer production and market share
- Breweries, openings, closures, and employment
- Packaging and retail behavior
- Beer competitions and category breadth
- Craft spirits sales and market position
- Craft spirits investment, jobs, and trade
- Direct-to-consumer shipping demand
Craft beer production and market share
U.S. craft brewers produced 23.1 million barrels of beer in 2024, according to the Brewers Association 2024 industry figures. That output was down 3.9% from 2023. The decline occurred while the overall U.S. beer market fell 1.2% by volume, making craft’s production decline steeper than the market-wide movement.
Craft beer held a 13.3% share of the U.S. beer market by volume in 2024. Its position was stronger when measured by retail dollars: craft beer accounted for 24.7% of total U.S. beer retail dollar sales. The Brewers Association estimated craft beer retail value at $28.8 billion, and reported 3% growth in retail dollar value for the year.
These measures describe different parts of the market. The 23.1 million-barrel figure records production, while the $28.8 billion estimate describes retail value. The volume and value results therefore should not be treated as interchangeable. Together, they show a category with lower beer output but higher retail dollars in the same 2024 industry figures.
| 2024 U.S. craft beer measure | Result | Source label |
|---|---|---|
| Production | 23.1 million barrels | Brewers Association 2024 industry figures |
| Volume market share | 13.3% | Brewers Association 2024 industry figures |
| Retail value | Estimated $28.8 billion | Brewers Association 2024 industry figures |
| Retail dollar share | 24.7% | Brewers Association 2024 industry figures |
| Retail dollar growth | 3% | Brewers Association 2024 industry figures |
The Brewers Association also reported that craft brewing employment reached 197,112 in 2024, an increase of 3.0% year over year. That employment result moved differently from production, reinforcing that output, retail value, and jobs represent separate industry indicators.
Breweries, openings, closures, and employment
There were 9,796 operating U.S. craft breweries in 2024, within a total U.S. brewery count of 9,922. The Brewers Association 2024 industry figures identify 2,029 operating craft breweries as microbreweries, 3,552 as brewpubs, 3,936 as taproom breweries, and 279 as regional craft breweries.
The same industry figures recorded 430 new brewery openings and 529 closures during 2024. It was the first year since 2005 in which brewery closures outpaced openings nationwide. The operating count still describes a large national network, but the opening and closure figures point to a more difficult operating environment than a simple growth narrative would suggest.
The Brewers Association 2024 midyear survey provides a separate time window and should not be merged with the full-year industry count. In that survey, active craft breweries increased from 9,339 in June 2023 to 9,358 in June 2024. Total breweries rose from 9,456 in June 2023 to 9,528 in June 2024. The midyear survey found that 54% of surveyed breweries reported growth in the first half of 2024 compared with the first half of the prior year.
The midyear survey estimated beer volume down 2% versus 2023 and reported independent craft packaged sales down 2% year over year. Those figures cover the survey’s first-half comparison, whereas the 3.9% craft production decline covers the full 2024 industry figures. The periods are related but not identical.
Packaging and retail behavior
The Brewers Association 2024 packaging trends data recorded a 4.0% decline in BA Craft sales volume and a 4.2% decline in NIQ Craft sales volume. The overall beer category fell 3.1% in the same packaging trends data. These are distinct measurement series, so the BA Craft and NIQ Craft results retain their original labels.
Aluminum gained 3.2 percentage points of container share from glass among craft beer in 2024. Cans represented 76.0% of BA Craft container volume and 73.8% of NIQ Craft container volume. For non-craft beer, packaging was 71% cans and 29% bottles in 2024, compared with 69% cans and 31% bottles in 2021.
Four unit sizes accounted for 96% of BA Craft volume share in scan data in 2024. Six-packs held the largest BA Craft package share at 46%. Their volume declined 5% year over year, and their overall volume share fell 0.4 percentage points. Four-packs held an 11% share of BA Craft volume; their share fell 0.5 percentage points and their volume declined 8% year over year.
Pricing moved upward even as several volume measures declined. BA Craft annualized price per case rose 2.5% in the 2024 packaging trends data, while NIQ Craft annualized price per case rose 2.6%. The packaging figures therefore show a market where container mix, package format, volume, and price were changing at different rates.
Beer competitions and category breadth
Competition data offers another way to view the scale and variety of the craft beverage field. The Brewers Association 2024 annual report states that the 2024 Great American Beer Festival judged 8,836 entries from 1,869 breweries and cideries. A total of 285 judges evaluated the entries, with more than 250 volunteers supporting the festival. The average judging category contained 85 beers.
The Juicy or Hazy Imperial India Pale Ale category drew 349 entries at GABF 2024. Across the festival, 326 medals were awarded and 273 breweries won medals. There were 280 breweries entering GABF for the first time, while 25 breweries won their first GABF medal. Five new cider categories were added to the 2024 festival.
The 2024 World Beer Cup had 9,300 entries from 2,060 breweries across 50 nations, according to the Brewers Association 2024 annual report. Of those participating breweries, 436 entered the World Beer Cup for the first time. The judging panel included 280 judges, including 103 judges from outside the United States.
The competition figures are participation and judging measures, not sales estimates. They nevertheless quantify the range of producers, products, judges, and national markets represented in the two major 2024 events.
Craft spirits sales and market position
The ACSA 2025 Craft Spirits Data Project reported that craft spirits sales totaled 12.7 million 9-liter cases in 2024 and reached $7.58 billion. Craft spirits volume fell 6.1% in 2024, while value fell 3.3%. Craft spirits held a 4.5% volume market share and a 7.5% value market share.
The geographic split of craft spirits sales was 48.5% in producers’ home states and 51.5% in other states in 2024. The project also reported 142,000 9-liter cases of craft spirits exports. These figures distinguish domestic distribution across state lines from exports and should not be read as a single geographic measure.
| 2024 craft spirits measure | Result | Source label |
|---|---|---|
| Sales volume | 12.7 million 9-liter cases | ACSA 2025 Craft Spirits Data Project |
| Sales value | $7.58 billion | ACSA 2025 Craft Spirits Data Project |
| Volume change | Down 6.1% | ACSA 2025 Craft Spirits Data Project |
| Value change | Down 3.3% | ACSA 2025 Craft Spirits Data Project |
| Volume market share | 4.5% | ACSA 2025 Craft Spirits Data Project |
| Value market share | 7.5% | ACSA 2025 Craft Spirits Data Project |
The craft beer and craft spirits figures use different units and source methodologies: beer retail value is reported in dollars alongside barrels, while spirits volume is reported in 9-liter cases. Their reported dollar figures provide scale context, but they are not a like-for-like product or accounting comparison.
Craft spirits investment, jobs, and trade
The ACSA 2025 Craft Spirits Data Project reported average craft producer investment of $288,900 in 2024. Total craft producer investment was $811 million. Both investment measures fell in the project’s 2024 reporting, with the average producer figure reaching $288,900 and total investment reaching $811 million.
Craft spirits employment also declined. U.S. craft spirits employment fell to 28,628 full-time domestic employees in 2024, compared with 29,373 in 2023, according to the same ACSA project. This is a full-time domestic employment measure and is not directly comparable with the Brewers Association’s craft brewing employment figure without additional methodological information.
Exports totaled 142,000 9-liter cases in 2024. Alongside the 48.5% home-state and 51.5% other-state sales split, that export figure shows how the sector’s reported distribution extended beyond producers’ home markets. The figures do not provide a forecast; they describe 2024 results in the ACSA project.
Direct-to-consumer shipping demand
The ACSA DtC Spirits Shipping Report measured strong consumer support for legal direct-to-consumer spirits shipping among regular craft spirits drinkers. In 2024, 85% of regular craft spirits drinkers expressed demand for legal direct-to-consumer spirits shipping, up from 80% in 2022.
The same report found that only nine states plus Washington, D.C., permit interstate direct-to-consumer spirits shipping. It reported that 65% of Americans want spirits shipping laws changed to allow shipping in more states, while 81% of regular craft spirits drinkers want current U.S. spirits shipping laws changed.
These percentages describe reported demand and opinions, not completed shipments or revenue. The distinction matters when reading them alongside sales data. The ACSA 2025 Craft Spirits Data Project reports 2024 sales, volume, employment, investment, and exports; the ACSA DtC Spirits Shipping Report measures consumer demand and the legal availability of interstate shipping.