Brewpubs remain one of the largest operating models in U.S. craft brewing. The Brewers Association counted 3,552 craft-segment brewpubs in 2024, while its June 2025 midyear report showed no year-over-year change for brewpubs. The figures below place that stability alongside national brewery counts, production, consumer reach, on-premise sales, and guest beer practices.
Contents
- Brewpub counts and the wider brewery market
- Openings, closings, and production
- How brewpubs fit the on-site model
- Consumer reach and business sentiment
- What the guest beer survey measured
- Guest beer sales and pricing
Brewpub counts and the wider brewery market
The Brewers Association’s 2024 U.S. Craft Brewing Industry Figures counted 9,796 operating U.S. craft breweries. Brewpubs made up 3,552 of those locations. The same report counted 3,936 taproom breweries, 2,029 microbreweries, and 279 regional craft breweries in the U.S. craft segment.
This classification shows how large the brewpub model is within craft brewing. The 3,552 brewpubs were fewer than the 3,936 taproom breweries, but more numerous than the 2,029 microbreweries and 279 regional craft breweries. The categories describe operating craft-brewery models in the Brewers Association’s 2024 count, rather than all possible hospitality businesses that serve beer.
| 2024 craft-brewery model | Operating locations |
|---|---|
| Brewpubs | 3,552 |
| Taproom breweries | 3,936 |
| Microbreweries | 2,029 |
| Regional craft breweries | 279 |
The Brewers Association’s 2023 production report counted 9,761 operating U.S. craft breweries. In that year, the craft segment included 3,502 brewpubs, 3,910 taproom breweries, 2,092 microbreweries, and 257 regional craft breweries. Total U.S. breweries, a broader measure than operating craft breweries, reached 9,906 in 2023 and 9,922 in 2024.
The year-specific counts should be read as separate annual snapshots. They do not by themselves explain why individual locations entered or left the market, and they should not be treated as a single continuous registry of every brewpub.
Openings, closings, and production
The 2024 industry figures recorded 430 new brewery openings and 529 brewery closings. Closings exceeded openings by 99 locations. Those numbers describe the U.S. brewery market in 2024 and are not limited to brewpubs.
For craft production, the Brewers Association reported 23.1 million barrels in 2024. Craft volume fell 3.9% from 2023. Craft beer held a 13.3% share of beer volume in 2024, while its retail dollar value reached $28.8 billion. Craft beer represented 24.7% of the U.S. beer market by retail dollar sales.
The contrast between volume share and dollar share is useful when interpreting the market. Craft beer’s 13.3% volume share and 24.7% retail-dollar share are different measures, so neither should be substituted for the other. The data also indicate that a decline in craft volume can occur alongside a substantial retail-dollar presence.
The sector employed 197,112 people in 2024, according to the Brewers Association. Craft employment rose 3.0% year over year. This is a craft-brewing employment measure, not a count of brewpub-specific jobs or total restaurant employment.
The 2023 production report provides additional market movement figures: 495 brewery openings and 418 brewery closings. Because these counts cover different calendar years and the broader brewery market, they are best used to describe annual conditions rather than to calculate a brewpub closure rate.
How brewpubs fit the on-site model
The Brewers Association’s 2025 Midyear Report said on-site models, including taprooms and brewpubs, represented 73% of craft businesses in 2024. Those on-site models represented 15% of craft volume in 2024. The two percentages describe different denominators: one concerns businesses and the other concerns volume.
That distinction helps explain why a model can be common among businesses without producing the same share of total barrels. Brewpubs and taprooms emphasize the location where beer is made or served, while production totals measure beer volume. The supplied report does not provide a brewpub-only share of the 15% on-site volume figure.
An older Brewers Association analysis of 2017 craft brewery growth reported a 15% growth rate for brewpubs and said brewpubs contributed about 16% of total craft brewery growth in that analysis. Those figures describe the 2017 analysis and should not be read as current growth rates. They are historical context, not an independent verification of today’s brewpub performance.
The same 2017 analysis reported that breweries with on-site sales in both 2016 and 2017 grew 13% in total volume. Their volume rose from 7.37 million barrels in 2016 to 8.33 million barrels in 2017, an increase of more than 960,000 barrels. The analysis also said the brewery-at-the-brewery sales channel added about 400,000 barrels in 2017 and represented roughly one-third of total craft growth that year.
These historical on-site figures describe breweries that reported on-site sales in both years. They do not establish that every brewpub followed the same path, and they are not forecasts for a future year.
Consumer reach and business sentiment
The Brewers Association’s 2025 Midyear Report, citing Scarborough data, said 9.8% of legal-drinking-age adults consumed craft beer in the past 30 days in 2024. The comparable 30-day reach was 6.6% in 2013, a difference of 3.2 percentage points by 2024. The geography is the United States, and the measure is recent craft-beer consumption among legal-drinking-age adults, not brewpub visits specifically.
The same midyear report described a divided 2025 business picture. Among survey respondents, 49% reported growth and 47% reported a decline. Among breweries producing less than 1,000 barrels annually, 50% reported growth and 43% reported decline in the 2025 midyear results.
These are survey-response shares, not a national estimate of the percentage of all brewpubs growing or shrinking. They also do not measure the size of each brewery’s increase or decline. A small brewery and a large brewery can each count as one respondent even though their production differs substantially.
The June 2025 midyear report counted 9,269 craft breweries operating in the United States, down 1% from June 2024. Within its model-specific comparison, brewpubs showed no year-over-year change in June 2025 versus June 2024. Taprooms were down 1%, and microbreweries were down 3% over the same comparison.
Because the 9,269 figure is a June 2025 midyear count while the 9,796 figure is a 2024 annual operating count, the two should not be used as though they were measurements taken at the same point in time. The brewpub result is a year-over-year comparison for the June period.
What the guest beer survey measured
The Brewers Association’s Brewpubs Guest Beers Survey covered 135 brewpubs and included responses from 55 brewers or owners. Among survey participants, average annual production was 853 barrels. Average on-premise sales volume was 69%, while average off-premise sales volume was 31%.
The survey also measured the balance between house-brewed and guest beer. Participants sold an average of 91% house-brewed beer and 9% guest beer. These are averages among the participants, not a national average for every U.S. brewpub. The survey’s participant count and response count are important context: the 135 brewpub coverage and 55 brewer-or-owner responses are not the same quantity.
Guest beer availability varied by format. The survey reported that 68% of participants sold guest drafts, and 36% sold guest packaged beer. The results therefore distinguish draft guest beer from packaged guest beer rather than combining them into one universal availability measure.
The average production figure of 853 barrels also gives scale to the surveyed group. It is an average annual production level for survey participants, not a forecast, capacity figure, or production threshold for classifying a brewpub. The 69% on-premise and 31% off-premise shares likewise describe sales volume among those participants.
Guest beer sales and pricing
Among the surveyed brewpub participants, the average mix was heavily weighted toward house-brewed beer: 91% house beer compared with 9% guest beer. Yet guest beer was present in a majority of the reported draft programs, with 68% selling guest drafts. Packaged guest beer was less common, with 36% selling it.
Pricing responses were split between two reported positions. The survey said 46% of participants priced guest beers about the same as house beers, while another 46% sold guest beers for less than house beers. The supplied survey figures do not identify the remaining response share, so no additional pricing category is inferred here.
Survey participants averaged 9 guest beer brands per location. This is a location-level average within the survey group, not a recommended number of brands or a count of all brands carried by U.S. brewpubs.
Taken together, the survey portrays guest beer as a complementary part of the brewpub offer. The average participant sold 9% guest beer and 91% house-brewed beer, while guest drafts were available at 68% of participating locations. The numbers support a distinction between having guest beer available and making guest beer the main sales source.
The survey’s 135-brewpub coverage, 55 brewer-or-owner responses, 853-barrel average annual production, 69% on-premise sales share, and 31% off-premise sales share should remain attached to the survey context. They are measured characteristics of that survey group, not independently verified claims about every brewpub in the United States.