Deja Brew: Trio of Texas Breweries Hold Their Ground on Annual Production List
2022 was a predictable year of production for Texas’ largest craft brewers, according to the Brewers Association. The organization published its annual Craft Brewing Industry Production Report for 2022 on Wednesday. Gambrinus, the parent company of Shiner Bock brewer Spoetzl, was the top producer in the Lone Star State, coming in at number 5 on the list. Deep Ellum and Oskar Blues owner CANarchy Collective slipped one spot in 2022, dropping from the seventh to the eighth-largest brewer by volume. Finally, Houston’s St. Arnold Brewing Company reprised their 2021 position at number 44. 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 24.3 million barrels of beer, down half a million barrels from 2021. However, retail dollar value grew by 6% over 2021 to $28.46 billion. The report attributes the gap between production and volume “due to pricing, share shift to smaller brewers–who are more likely to sell onsite and via distributed draught–as well as the continued channel shift back to on-premise, which has a higher retail value.” The report also identifies a 9% increase in direct jobs from craft brewers due to the re-emphasis on on-premise sales. The number of active craft breweries reached an all-time high of 9,552 microbreweries, brewpubs, taproom breweries, and regional craft breweries. 549 new breweries opened in 2022 while 319 closed. “In this maturing and competitive market, collective growth for the category is hard to come by,” said BA’s chief economist Bart Watson.
