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