2023 was a virtual repeat on last year’s production for Texas’ largest craft brewers, according to the Brewers Association. The organization published its annual Craft Brewing Industry Production Report for 2023 on Tuesday. Gambrinus, the parent company of Shiner Bock brewer Spoetzl, was the top producer in the Lone Star State, repeating at number 5 on the list. New Deep Ellum and Oskar Blues owner Monster Brewing continued a years-long trend of declining by one spot in 2023, dropping from the eighth to the ninth-largest brewer by volume. Finally, Houston’s St. Arnold Brewing Company had a small jump up the list, moving from number 44 to number 41. All three breweries have appeared on the BA’s list since 2017.
Mixed Results Nationally
The report calculates total production by U.S. craft breweries at 23.4 million barrels of beer, a one percent decline from 2022. However, retail dollar value grew by 1.5% over 2022 to $28.9 billion even as the overall beer market shrank by 5.1%. The report attributes the gap between production and volume “due to pricing but also due to slightly stronger onsite sales growth versus distribution.” The report also notes that craft beer’s declines were smaller than the overall market’s decline, with the overall market share by volume increasing from 13.1% to 13.3%. The number of active craft breweries reached a new all-time high of 9,761 microbreweries, brewpubs, taproom breweries, and regional craft breweries. 495 new breweries opened in 2022 while 418 closed. “Even as growth has downshifted, small brewers have proved quite resilient, as seen in the increase in number of breweries, relatively low closing rates, and gains in onsite sales and jobs,” said BA’s chief economist Bart Watson.
