Number of U.S. Breweries Set to Contract for 2nd Straight Year
The number of independent brewery closings is slated to surpass the number of openings this year, according to tracking from the Brewers Association (BA). The BA — a not-for-profit organization of trade members — recorded 268 new openings and 434 closings this year.
Unless 166 new breweries come into the market in the final few weeks of the year, 2025 will be the second year in a row that brewery closings outpace openings. The trend carries over from last year when there were 225 openings and 399 closings. But the industry is slimming at an accelerating rate.
Craft beer’s measured economic impact in the U.S. in 2025 also decreased from last year. The segment contributed $72.5 billion to the U.S. economy, marking a $4.6 billion drop. While that sounds massive, it’s only a 0.5 percent decrease, so the industry is far from dead.
“Changing consumer behaviors, retailer rationalization, cost increases due to inflation and tariffs, and more competition than ever have been compounding difficulties in 2025,” says Matt Gacioch, a staff economist at the BA. “And still, brewers are stepping up to meet today’s challenges head on by adjusting their offerings and, sometimes, their entire business models.”
The contraction of breweries reflects the dipping success of smaller-batch craft beer in grocery stores. The sector was down by 8.2 percent in dollar sales last month — a drop that continued the decline after October’s 7.8 percent fall in dollar sales. Craft beer’s sales have dropped by 4.6 percent YTD, and the average price per case increased by $0.68 in 2025.
But dollar sales aren’t decreasing across the board. Eleven of the top 30 craft beers included in Circana’s records experienced growth in sales in 2025 YTD, Brewbound reports. Voodoo Ranger, Kona Big Wave, and Elysian Space Dust IPA are among those in the green.
Looking ahead, the BA expects “reason for cautious optimism” for craft beer, noting research that indicates an uptick in consumer socialization.
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