More than 200 craft breweries closed for good in 2018

USA | There were over 1,000 craft brewery openings in 2018 but also 219 closings.

In April 2019, the Brewers Association (BA) released annual growth figures for the craft brewing industry. Those deemed “mall and independent” by the BA collectively produced 30.5 million hl beer in 2018, an increase of 4 percent over 2017. Their beer market share by volume was 13.2 percent. However, there were 219 closings.

In view of 1,049 new craft breweries openings – with 7,346 craft breweries operating overall in 2018 – that is a failure rate of merely 3 percent. But it is an indication that increased competition will certainly be an issue for everyone.

The brewery closures do not seem to have impacted overall growth in the industry. On the contrary, keen and eager craft brewers-to-be snapped up the shuttered breweries quickly and reopened them under a new name as installations went for pennies on the dollar.