Craft Beer Market Continues to Grow

A big St. Patrick's Day cheers to the Brewers Association, a trade association representing small and independant American craft brewers, which released its latest figures on the growth of the industry today. According to the association, craft brewers saw an 18 percent rise in volume with a total of 15.6 million barrels last year. Craft breweries took 7.8 percent volume of the total U.S. beer market, up from 6.5 percent in 2012. Retail dollar value from craft brewers went from $11.9 billion in 2012 to $14.3 billion in 2013. “With this stellar year, craft has now averaged 10.9 percent growth over the last decade,” Brewers Association staff economist Bart Watson said in a press release.. “Beer drinkers are excited about what small and independent brewers are offering and that is evidenced by the rising production and sales of the craft segment.” The United States has 2,822 operating breweries, a 15 percent increase over 2012. Of those, 2,768 are craft breweries. Here's a breakdown by type:

• 1,237 Brewpubs (A restaurant-brewery that sells 25 percent or more of its beer on site, where the beer is brewed primarily for sale in the establishment.)
• 1,412 Microbreweries (A brewery that produces less than 15,000 barrels of beer a year, with 75 percent or more of that sold off-site.)
• 119 Regional Craft Breweris (An independent regional brewery with either an all-malt flagship or at least 50 percent of its volume in in all malt beers.)

There were 413 new brewery openings, with only 44 closings in 2013. This is a shortened version an infographic from the Brewer's Association: You can see the whole graphic here.