Craft brewing industry grew 8% in 2021

BOULDER — The craft brewing industry grew by 8% in 2021, according to annual data released Tuesday by the Brewers Association. Craft brewers produced 24.8 million barrels of beer, giving them a 13.1% market share.

“Craft brewer sales rebounded in 2021, lifted by the return of draught and at-the-brewery traffic,” Bart Watson, chief economist of the Brewers Association, said in a prepared statement. “However, the mixed performance across business models and geographies as well as production levels that still lag 2019 suggest that many breweries remain in recovery mode. Add in continuing supply chain and pricing challenges, and 2022 will be a critical year for many brewers.”

The number of craft breweries reached an all-time high of 9,118 in 2021. Closings declined after a spike in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

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Colorado laid claim to three of the top 50 craft breweries in the country: seventh-ranked Canarchy, the collective that includes Longmont’s Oskar Blues Brewery and was purchased by Monster Beverage Corp. (Nasdaq: MNST) in January for $300 million; 20th-ranked Odell Brewing Co. in Fort Collins; and 47th-ranked Left Hand Brewing Co. in Longmont. 

Colorado also had three of the overall top 50 breweries in the country: 11th-ranked New Belgium Brewing Co., 16th-ranked Canarchy and 29th-ranked Odell.