Alabama's craft breweries stay busy
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Good People Brewing Co. out of Birmingham is head and shoulders above the competition in terms of barrel output, with 19,700 barrels sold in 2024.
Why it matters: Nationally, the craft beer market produced about 4% less beer in 2024 than it did the year before, but available data points to Alabama's largest craft breweries holding firm.
Zoom in: Data from the Brewer's Association on percentage changes from 2023 to last year is only available for Back Forty and Cahaba, which grew by 17% and shrank by 1%, respectively.
Context: The Brewer's Association reports that overall, sales and imports of beer nationwide were down 1% last year, though retail dollar sales of craft beer were up 3% to $28.8 billion.
- That's thanks to prices going up and on-site sales growth versus distribution, per the annual report.
Zoom out: Alabama ranks 39th nationally for the number of craft breweries with 53 statewide, per the Brewer's Association, a number that was steadily on the rise for about 10 years before flattening out in 2019.
- While the state's rate of 1.4 breweries per 100,000 drinking-age adults ranks 50th, the $650-million impact those breweries have on the state's economy ranks 30th.