Two Colorado craft brewers rank in nation's top 50 in 2022

The U.S. craft beer market is flat for the first time ever outside the pandemic blip, and three Colorado brewers slipped in the production rankings.

Why it matters: The more established craft beer markets — like Colorado's $3 billion industry — are bearing the brunt of the industry's headwinds as increased competition and shifting consumer demographics create an uncertain economic future.

State of beer: Independent breweries produced 24.3 million barrels in 2022, the Boulder-based Brewers Association reported Tuesday.

• The number of new breweries opening nationwide decreased for the second consecutive year, while the closings rate increased to 3%.

Yes, but: Craft still fared better than the overall beer market, which saw production volume decline 3% in 2022, and the number of breweries climbed to an all-time high of 9,552.

Zoom in: Two Colorado breweries rank in America's top 50 craft breweries by production.

• CANarchy, the collection of breweries led by Longmont's Oskar Blues, landed as the eighth-largest craft company, down one spot from 2021.
• Odell Brewing in Fort Collins landed at No. 22, falling from 20th.

• Longmont's Left Hand Brewing, which recently expanded to Denver, fell out of the top 50 after sitting at 47th last year.

Of note: Other Colorado breweries that are no longer considered independent craft beer — because they are owned by larger corporations — placed in the overall top brewing companies.

• Anheuser-Busch, which brews in Fort Collins, sits at No. 1 in the world, followed by Molson Coors.
• Kirin-Lion, which owns New Belgium, is up one spot to No. 10, and Mahou San Miguel, the parent company of Avery, stayed at No. 13.