Brewers Association 2026 Midyear Report: Pressure Persists as Signs of Stability Emerge

Craft production trends held steady at -4% in the first half of 2026, while the decline in operating breweries slightly increased and consumer engagement strengthened.

The Brewers AssociationOpens in new window (BA) today released results from its midyear survey, presenting an updated look at the craft beer industry. While the findings point to continued pressure, several indicators suggest the contraction may be moderating.

The BA estimates craft volume declined 4% in the first six months of 2026, compared against the same period in 2025. The estimate draws on survey responses from 600+ breweries representing roughly 20% of industry volume, along with triangulation with other industry resources. Because the survey sample of breweries outperformed the wider industry by 5.5 percentage points (pp) in 2025, the estimate accounts for the sample’s share of the industry and adjusts for response bias.

The number of operating breweries also continued to decline. There were 9,344 breweries operating in June 2026, down 1.8% from 9,515 a year earlier in June 2025. This represents a slight uptick in the rate of decline, from -1% in the first half of 2025. The number of regional breweries and microbreweries each declined 3%, followed by taprooms at 2% and brewpubs at 1%. Because taprooms and brewpubs are far more numerous, those smaller percentage changes still represent meaningful absolute numbers of closures.

For the first half of 2026, taprooms were the best-performing brewery type by volume change, outpacing other models by 1–2 pp. Additionally, when assessing by channel, distributed draught gained 0.5 pp of channel share, while distributed packaged product declined 0.4 pp and onsite sales declined 0.1 pp. This suggests craft brewers are finding opportunities to meet consumer need in draught amid wholesaler consolidation and portfolio rationalization.

Wider Beverage Alcohol Struggles

Retail scan data showed steeper declines than the BA estimate. Off-premise data from NielsenIQ (NIQ) shows BA-defined craft down 5.2% in the first half of 2026 across all channels (xAOC + Convenience + Liquor). By comparison, NIQ-defined craft was down 5.6% for the same period, and beer plus non-alcohol beer was down 4.0%. The shift from packaged to draught helps explain why the BA estimate for craft overall outperformed scan trends. When channels not measured by scan (i.e. draught and onsite) outperform packaged sales, the overall category estimate outperforms scan trends.

Beer continues to experience declines alongside other beverage alcohol categories. Wine & Spirits Wholesalers of America (WSWA) SipSource data showed spirits volume down 5.3% and wine down 9.2% for the 12 months ending May 2026. That period does not align perfectly with the first-half craft beer figures, but it offers the most recent comparison available.

Signs of Resilience

The overall decline of craft volume is not the only story in these data. Among survey respondents, 54% reported growth, 43% reported declines, and 3% remained flat. Every craft brewery type had a greater share reporting growth than decline, with taprooms (57% growing) and regional breweries (56% growing) leading the charge. Among breweries producing more than 10,000 barrels, 59% reported growth and just 40% reported declines. While there’s likely positive-leaning sample bias (breweries are more likely to report when things are going well), this is an overall bump from 49% reporting growth in this survey last year.

Craft consumers offered another encouraging signal. In the 2026 Brewers Association and Harris Poll Consumer Survey of more than 2,000 adults, monthly craft consumption among craft drinkers reached 85%, up 10 percentage points year-over-year and up to its highest level since 2019–2020. Craft drinkers also visited breweries 5.5 times on average over the past year, up from 5.1 in 2025.

In spite of these bright spots, it is too soon to say whether craft has reached the bottom of the valley for trends in production volume or number of breweries. Still, after several years of figures moving in the wrong direction, that moderation may catalyze some cautious optimism for an industry of perseverant brewers. The world in which craft brewers operate hasn’t gotten any easier or more predictable in 2026, but perhaps the breweries that have weathered the storm so far are the ones that have best positioned themselves for storm weathering into the future.