US craft beer market stabilises with production up 5% this year

From: FoodBev

Production volumes from US small and independent craft brewers increased by 5% in the first half of 2018, according to new figures from The Brewers Association (BA).

As of June 30, there were 6,655 active breweries, up from 5,562 during a comparable timeframe last year. An estimated 2,500 to 3,000 breweries are in planning, based on active licenses.

The rate of increase was the same for the first six months of last year, which was lower than the 8% volume growth from 2016 and 16% for 2015.

BA classifies a small craft brewer to have annual production of 6 million barrels of beer of less and defines an independent brewer as being less than 25% owned by an alcoholic beverage industry member that is not itself a craft brewer.

Bart Watson, BA chief economist,  said: “While more mature, the market continues to show demand for small and independent craft brewers. There are certainly industry headwinds, but this stabilised growth rate is reflective of the market realities that exist for brewers today.

“The data demonstrate that 2018 is on pace to have the highest number of brewery openings and closings to date. However, even as breweries close, openings continue to far outpace the number that shutter.

“New players looking to enter the space should be aware of the constructs of the current landscape, work to differentiate themselves and will need to make quality beer to succeed.”

Research last year found that 80% of consumers believe that the craft beer trend is not a “passing fad” and is here to stay.

DSM surveyed 3,300 consumers in the UK, US, Belgium, Spain, France, Italy and the Netherlands, and 80% of respondents said that they would be open to trying new brands of beer, with just 4% saying that they would not.

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