The number of craft breweries in the U.S. contracted for the second year in a row in 2025 with a 2.9-percent year-over-year decrease, according to the Brewers Association’s (BA) annual production report for the craft industry. The BA recorded 9,578 operating craft breweries last year. The number of microbreweries showed the largest decline with a 4.4-percent drop. Taprooms and brewpubs trailed behind with 2.7 and 2.5 percent decreases, respectively.
In its annual craft brewing industry production report, the BA documents the craft segment’s total output by volume, number of breweries, market share, and workforce size. The report also ranks the country’s craft brewing companies by sales volume. The BA categorizes a brewer as craft if it produces fewer than 6 million barrels of beer or less annually and if 25 percent or less of the company is owned by another entity in the beverage-alcohol industry. Its data does not include flavored malt beverages.
