The U.S. beer industry changed substantially between 2012 and 2024. TTB Beer Yearly Data counted 2,782 beer industry members in 2012 and 7,818 in 2024, while annual beer production moved from 196,174,279 barrels to 158,133,696 barrels. That combination—more industry members alongside lower total production—helps distinguish the size of the producer base from the volume of beer made.
Contents
- Industry membership
- Production over time
- Taxable beer removals
- Exports
- Stocks on hand
- The 2024 snapshot
Industry membership
TTB Beer Yearly Data reported a steady expansion in beer industry members through 2022, followed by two annual declines. The count rose from 2,782 in 2012 to 3,286 in 2013 and 3,904 in 2014. It then reached 4,594 in 2015, 5,335 in 2016, and 6,169 in 2017.
The count continued upward in 2018, when TTB reported 6,856 beer industry members, and in 2019, when it reported 7,334. The 2020 figure was 7,604, followed by 7,886 in 2021 and the period high of 8,196 in 2022. Membership then measured 8,155 in 2023 and 7,818 in 2024.
| Year | Beer industry members |
|---|---|
| 2012 | 2,782 |
| 2015 | 4,594 |
| 2018 | 6,856 |
| 2021 | 7,886 |
| 2022 | 8,196 |
| 2024 | 7,818 |
The membership series is a count of beer industry members, not a measure of barrels produced by each member. It therefore describes the number of members reported by TTB rather than the average size of a brewery, the number of operating taprooms, or the number of home brewers.
Production over time
TTB Beer Yearly Data recorded 196,174,279 barrels of beer production in 2012. Production was 192,130,392 barrels in 2013 and 192,879,520 in 2014. It remained near that range in 2015, at 192,636,536 barrels, before moving down to 190,656,458 in 2016.
Annual production then measured 186,579,265 barrels in 2017 and 183,793,289 in 2018. The 2019 total was 180,421,831 barrels. In 2020, production was 181,842,329 barrels, and in 2021 it was 181,861,958 barrels.
The later figures were lower: 174,810,195 barrels in 2022, 165,481,228 in 2023, and 158,133,696 in 2024. The 2024 total is the lowest production figure in this supplied 2012–2024 series, while the 2012 total is the highest.
| Year | Beer production (barrels) |
|---|---|
| 2012 | 196,174,279 |
| 2014 | 192,879,520 |
| 2016 | 190,656,458 |
| 2018 | 183,793,289 |
| 2020 | 181,842,329 |
| 2022 | 174,810,195 |
| 2024 | 158,133,696 |
These are annual production totals. They should not be read as retail sales, servings, or the volume sold directly by breweries. For home brewers, the figures offer national industry scale, but they do not measure home production.
Taxable beer removals
Taxable beer removals were 180,403,067 barrels in 2012, according to TTB Beer Yearly Data. The figure was 178,091,476 barrels in 2013 and 177,448,153 in 2014. It declined slightly to 177,164,772 barrels in 2015 and then to 174,605,112 in 2016.
The series continued lower in 2017, at 171,113,949 barrels, and in 2018, at 167,700,910. Taxable removals measured 167,889,868 barrels in 2019. They increased to 170,440,004 barrels in 2020, then measured 170,131,461 in 2021.
The later totals were 162,853,185 barrels in 2022, 152,533,266 in 2023, and 147,804,427 in 2024. Within the reported series, 2012 had the highest taxable-removal total and 2024 had the lowest.
Taxable removals are presented here as their own TTB measure. They are not interchangeable with production: production was 158,133,696 barrels in 2024, while taxable removals were 147,804,427 barrels in the same year. Comparing the two without preserving their labels would blur two different reported measures.
Exports
Export removals totaled 5,031,420 barrels in 2012. TTB Beer Yearly Data recorded 5,313,800 barrels in 2013, 5,509,262 in 2014, and 6,230,157 in 2015. The total reached 6,520,927 barrels in 2016 and 6,830,951 in 2017.
The series reached 6,923,976 barrels in 2018, the highest export-removal figure in the supplied data. It then measured 5,110,672 barrels in 2019, 3,883,293 in 2020, and 4,171,646 in 2021.
Export removals were 3,629,616 barrels in 2022, 2,773,562 in 2023, and 2,596,797 in 2024. The 2024 figure was the lowest in the 2012–2024 series. These numbers describe export removals reported by TTB; they are not a complete measure of all international beer activity or the value of exports.
| Year | Export removals (barrels) |
|---|---|
| 2012 | 5,031,420 |
| 2015 | 6,230,157 |
| 2018 | 6,923,976 |
| 2020 | 3,883,293 |
| 2022 | 3,629,616 |
| 2024 | 2,596,797 |
The export series shows a rise from 2012 through 2018, followed by lower reported totals in every year from 2019 through 2024. The measurement is in barrels, so it does not indicate the number of shipments, destinations, brands, or export revenue.
Stocks on hand
TTB Beer Yearly Data reported beer stocks on hand at month end of 126,705,648 barrels in 2012. The figure was 127,310,061 barrels in 2013 and 129,425,941 in 2014. It measured 128,840,940 barrels in 2015, 129,592,884 in 2016, and 127,252,983 in 2017.
Stocks on hand rose to 130,306,471 barrels in 2018, then measured 127,294,681 in 2019 and 129,078,103 in 2020. The 2021 figure was 141,737,577 barrels, the highest stock total in the supplied series.
The measure then fell to 133,728,807 barrels in 2022, 129,343,851 in 2023, and 126,351,054 in 2024. The 2024 figure was slightly below the 2012 figure, although the intervening years included higher reported month-end stock totals.
| Year | Stocks on hand at month end (barrels) |
|---|---|
| 2012 | 126,705,648 |
| 2016 | 129,592,884 |
| 2018 | 130,306,471 |
| 2021 | 141,737,577 |
| 2024 | 126,351,054 |
The timing matters: this is a month-end stock measure, not an annual average inventory level. It also does not identify where the stocks were held, how long they remained there, or what styles of beer they represented.
The 2024 snapshot
The latest year in the TTB Beer Yearly Data series gives a compact view of the industry measures together. TTB reported 7,818 beer industry members in 2024. Annual beer production totaled 158,133,696 barrels, taxable beer removals totaled 147,804,427 barrels, export removals totaled 2,596,797 barrels, and stocks on hand at month end totaled 126,351,054 barrels.
| 2024 measure | Reported amount |
|---|---|
| Beer industry members | 7,818 |
| Beer production | 158,133,696 barrels |
| Taxable beer removals | 147,804,427 barrels |
| Export removals | 2,596,797 barrels |
| Stocks on hand at month end | 126,351,054 barrels |
The 2024 numbers should be kept in their original categories. Industry members are a count; production, taxable removals, exports, and stocks are barrel measures; and stocks are explicitly measured at month end. The dataset provides annual observations through 2024, but it does not provide a forecast beyond that year, a breakdown by state, brewery size, beer style, or home-brewing activity.
For readers comparing years, the clearest pattern is the contrast between membership and volume. Membership increased from 2,782 in 2012 to 8,196 in 2022 before reaching 7,818 in 2024. Over the same endpoints, production moved from 196,174,279 barrels in 2012 to 158,133,696 barrels in 2024. TTB Beer Yearly Data therefore presents a period in which the reported member count was higher at the end of the series while the reported national production total was lower.