Brewers Association Releases 2024 Year in Beer Retrospective
The largest trade group for craft beer reported a down year across the industry earlier in December. The Brewers Association anticipates that 2024 will likely end with a decline in sales volume and in production after a slight drop-off (-2% production) midyear and weak scan data for Q3. The national brewery opening and closing numbers also showed a slight decline, with 335 openings to 399 closures. Those numbers only accounted for 3.4% and 4.1% of the 9,736 breweries operating in the U.S. Craft brewing supported 460,000 jobs nationally and generated $77.1 billion of impact on the U.S. economy.
In terms of broader trends, the BA noted that non-alcoholic beer sales shot up by 30% year-over-year as more brewers met consumer demand for healthy options. Breweries also focused on simplifying their offerings and playing the hits (building off of already successful products and business models). Finally, there was a new emphasis on meeting consumers where they are by offering non-beer beverages and family-friendly activities.
2024 was a year of change for the Brewers Association itself. The Great American Beer Festival, the BA’s largest publicly-facing event, was dramatically restructured around themed areas and included non-beer beverages for the first time. The trade association also had a tumultuous Board of Directors election where a pair of candidates found themselves running for a non-existent board seat before being appointed as at-large members. But the biggest news of all for the Brewers Association was the announcement of a new president and CEO. Bart Watson, the longtime chief economist for the BA and the current Vice President for Strategy and Membership, will take over from Bob Pease in January. Pease is retiring after 32 years with the Brewers Association and 10 as the CEO.
The full 2024 Year in Beer report is available here.
