On Tuesday, the Brewers Association (BA) unveiled its yearly production review of the craft brewing industry and identified the top 50 craft producers of 2024.
Last year was another tough year for the brewing industry at large, with 2024 marking the first year since 2005 that the overall number of craft breweries in the U.S. declined. In 2023, there were a total of 9,683 operational craft breweries in the country. Last year, that number dropped to 9,612, which includes 1,934 microbreweries, 3,389 brewpubs, 3,695 taproom breweries, and 266 regional craft breweries. 2024 also marked the fourth consecutive year the craft brewing industry experienced a decline in the number of openings. Just 434 new breweries opened their doors last year, while 501 shuttered operations entirely.
