While the overall U.S. consumption of beer, measured in terms of per capita consumption, has been declining steadily since the 1980s, as can be seen in the graphic, the craft beer market has been doing quite well. Craft beers are those made by brewers whose annual production is less than 6 million barrels, who use traditional methods of brewing and are independently owned. The number of craft brewers in the United States has risen from 1,753 in 2010 to 2,403 in 2012 and craft brewers in 2012 accounted for 6.5% of the overall beer market by volume and 10.2% by value of sales.

The graph presents per capita beer consumption in the Untied States from 1966 through 2012 with a red line showing the median age of the U.S. population.

Today’s market size is based on sales of craft beer in the United States in 2012, by volume and value. In volume terms, the craft beer market grew by 15% between 2011 and 2012 and by value, it grew by 17%.

Geographic reference: United States
Year: 2012
Market size: 13.24 million barrels (410.44 million gallons) valued at $10.2 billion.
Source: “Craft Brewing Facts,” Brewers Association, March 18, 2013, available online here. The graphic comes from Patricia J. Bungert and Arsen J. Darnay, editors, Encyclopedia of Products & Industries — Manufacturing, Figure 19, page 96, Gale Cengage Learning, 2008, updated here with data cited above from the Brewers Association’s website.
Original source: Brewers Association and U.S. Census Bureau
Posted on April 10, 2013