Brewscape: The Latest Craft Beer Brand News

Craft’s 2023 Through the Numbers

The final Circana beer report for 2023 has arrived and it’s time to see how the category and its segments fared in scans, starting with a look at craft.

Of note: Circana includes craft brands owned by large manufacturers in its craft data set, and its definition of “craft” differs from that of the Brewers Association (BA).

Craft finished 2023 with dollar sales down -0.9%, with more than $4.71 billion in sales year-to-date (YTD) through December 31 in multi-outlet plus convenience channels. The decline was in spite of an average price per case increase of $1.50, to $42.62. The decline was also significantly smaller than the -4.4% YoY decline recorded in 2022 and -4.6% decline in 2021.

By comparison, total beer dollar sales increased +2.6%, while the average price per case increased by $1.28, to $29.89.

Craft volume, measured by case sales, declined -4.4%, with a loss of more than 5 million cases. The decline was significantly larger than the -1.7% decline recorded by total beer, but smaller than the -8.6% craft volume decline recorded in 2022.

In the final four weeks of 2023, craft dollar sales declined -1.3% year-over-year (YoY) and volume declined -2.6%. In the last 12 weeks, dollar sales were down -1.5% and volume was down -3%.

Craft’s share of total beer dollars in 2023 declined -0.37 share points, to 10.3%, continuing to fall after declining -0.61 share points in 2022, to 10.63%. Craft’s share of total beer volume declined -0.2 share points, to 7.22%. Flavored malt beverages (FMBs), which increased volume share +0.93 share points in 2023, to 7.12%, are now nipping at the heels of craft for the fourth largest share of beer volume.

In the convenience channel – the strongest growth channel for beer – craft dollar sales increased +4.5%, to more than $1.63 billion. Overall beer growth in the channel was even larger (+5.2%).

Four beer segments outpaced overall beer in the channel: Imports (+15.1%), FMBs (+19.1%), hard cider (+7.6%) and non-alcoholic (+28.2%). Domestic sub-premium (+1.6%) and domestic super premium (+0.2%) were also in the black, while dollar sales for domestic premium (-1.6%), hard seltzer (-6.2%) and assorted (-73.9%) all declined.

Imports recorded the largest increase in share of beer dollar sales, claiming an additional 2.27 share points for 26.19% share, just below No. 1 shareholder domestic premiums (-1.8 share points, to 26.38%).

Craft volume was also in the black, increasing +0.7% versus 2022, above channel trends for overall beer (-0.4%).

The average price per case of craft beer increased by $1.70, to $46.51, slightly above total beer price increases (+$1.67, to $31.66). Craft is the second most expensive beer segment in c-stores behind hard cider (+$2.78, to $50.56), passing assorted, which declined its average case price by $17, to $45.67.

Craft’s share of total beer sales in the channel declined -0.04 share points, to 6.31%. However, craft’s share of c-store beer volume increased +0.05 share points, to 4.3%. Still, the segment has a small share of the pie, with less share than the majority of beer segments other than hard cider (0.36%), NA (0.15%) and assorted (less than 0.01%).

In grocery, craft dollar sales declined -3.3%, to nearly $2.6 billion. Craft’s share of total beer sales in grocery declined -0.43 share points, to 19.63%, falling to the No. 3 largest share in the channel. Imports overtook craft for the No. 2 spot, increasing dollar sales +6.4% in the channel, to nearly $2.73 billion, and share of beer dollars +1.49 share points, to 20.61%. Domestic premiums maintained the No. 1 spot, despite a -1.8% decline in dollar sales, with 23.08% share of beer dollars in the channel.

Craft volume took a large hit in grocery, declining -6.3%, marking a loss of more than 4.2 million cases. Price per case in the channel increased by $1.29, to $41.49. Craft is the third most expensive beer segment in grocery, behind hard cider (+$1.47 YoY, to $48.39) and assorted (+$1.89, to $46.76).

Craft case share in grocery declined by -0.29 share points, to 13.92%, maintaining the third largest share of beer volume in the channel behind domestic premiums (-0.41 share points, to 30.45% share) and imports (+1.42 share points, to 17.95%). Domestic sub-premium isn’t too far behind, increasing its own share by 0.23 share points in 2023, to 13.33%.

How Other Segments Fared in Overall Scans

Five beer segments recorded dollar sales growth in 2023 in multi-outlet plus convenience channels: Imports (+11.8%), domestic sub-premiums (+2%), FMBs (+17%), hard cider (+1.7%) and non-alcoholic (NA) beer (+29.3%).

Three segments also gained share of total beer dollars:

• Imports (+1.96 share points, to 24.05%);

• FMBs (+1.17 share points, to 9.53%);

• NA (+0.16 share points, to 0.79%).

Of the five beer segments to record declines, craft had the smallest dollar sales loss YoY, followed by domestic premiums (-1.2%), domestic super premiums (-1.5%), hard seltzer (-13.6%) and assorted (-20.2%).

Imports (+7.9%), FMBs (+13%) and NA (+19.7%) were the only segments to increase volume in 2023 versus 2022. Assorted beer recorded the largest decline (-23.4%), followed by hard seltzers (-18.2%), domestic premium (-4.9%), craft (-4.4%), domestic super premium (-3.6%) and hard cider (-2.3%).

Imports recorded the largest beer volume share gain (+1.76 share points, to 19.65%), while hard seltzer recorded the largest share loss (-1.21 share points, to 6%).

New Belgium and Bell’s Claim 9 Craft Top 30 Spots

Molson Coors’ Blue Moon Belgian White is still the No. 1 craft brand in Circana-tracked channels, despite continued losses. The brand recorded a -3.2% decline in dollar sales, to nearly $267.9 million, and -6.9% decline in volume in 2023. It was the third consecutive year of dollar sales decline for Blue Moon, following losses in 2022 (-1.3%) and 2021 (-8.5%).

The No. 2 best-selling craft brand was once again Kirin-owned New Belgium Brewing’s Voodoo Ranger Imperial IPA, which increased dollar sales +12.4%, to $171.37 million, and volume +7.9%. Voodoo Ranger Juice Force hazy imperial IPA was No. 3 after only its second year in the market, increasing dollar sales +75.4%, to nearly $128.36 million, and volume +75.1%.

No. 4 Sierra Nevada Hazy Little Thing IPA (+7.5%) and No. 9 Anheuser-Busch InBev’s (A-B) Elysian Space Dust IPA (+0.3%) were the only other top 10 craft brands to record dollar sales gains YoY.

The rest of the top 10 craft brands performed as follows:

• Boston Beer Company’s Samuel Adams Seasonal (-4.9%, to nearly $99.25 million);

• Sierra Nevada Pale Ale (-2.3%, to $87.34 million);

• Shiner Bock (-1.4%, to nearly $85.75 million);

• Molson Coors’ Leinenkugel’s Shandy: (-0.6%, to nearly $82.6 million);

• Heineken’s Lagunitas IPA (-11.9%, to nearly $70.85 million).

Five other New Belgium brands made Circana’s top 30 craft brands list: No. 15 New Belgium Voodoo Ranger Fruit Force hazy IPA (launched at the start of 2023); No. 18 Voodoo Ranger Hoppy Pack (+13% YoY); No. 19 Fat Tire Amber Ale (-17.7%); No. 21 Voodoo Ranger Juice Haze IPA (-12.3%); No. 25 Voodoo Ranger IPA (-14.6%).

Kirin-owned Bell’s Brewery also had two entries in the top 30: No. 14 Bell’s Two Hearted (+5.6%) and No. 30 Bell’s Seasonal (+11.2%).

Only four other top 30 craft brands recorded YoY dollar sales gains: No. 11 A-B’s Kona Big Wave (+41.7%, to $67 million); No. 17 Monster-owned Cigar City Jai Alai IPA (+1.1%,, to $39.8 million); No. 24 A-B’s Goose Island Tropical Beer Hug double IPA (+90.3%, to $28.6 million); and No. 27 A-B’s Wicked Weed Pernicious IPA (+8.5%, to nearly $25.7 million).

Nine of the top 30 recorded YoY dollar sales declines:

• No. 12 Firestone Walker 805 (-3.8%, to $64.3 million);

• No. 13 Founders All Day IPA (-6.2%, to $62.1 million);

• No. 16 Samuel Adams Boston Lager (-3.5%, $46.5 million);

• No. 20 Blue Moon Light Sky Citrus Wheat (-22%, to $38.6 million);

• No. 22 Lagunitas Little Sumpin Sumpin (-15.9%, to $33.6 million);

• No. 23 Samuel Adams Variety Pack (-1.1%, to $32.8 million);

• No. 26 Sierra Nevada Torpedo Extra IPA (-3.6%, to $28.3 million);

• No. 28 Sierra Nevada Big Little Thing imperial IPA (-10.8%, to $23.5 million);

• No. 29 Goose Island IPA (-17.3%, to $23.2 million).

Voodoo Ranger Imperial IPA finished 2023 maintaining the No. 1 craft spot in c-stores by dollar sales, increasing dollar sales +15.3%, to nearly $96.6 million. Blue Moon Belgian White was No. 2, with dollar sales declining -3.1% in the channel, to nearly $94.7 million.

Blue Moon remains the No. 1 craft brand by volume, despite a -6.8% decline in case sales. Voodoo Ranger Imperial IPA increased case sales +9.9% YoY.

Four craft brands made the top 30 in c-stores that weren’t in the top 30 overall:

• Rhinegeist Truth IPA (+8.6%, to $11.7 million)

• Georgetown Bodhizafa IPA (+29.4%, to $9.1 million);

• 10 Barrel Pub Lager (+29.4%, to $8.48 million);

• And Tilray-owned Sweetwater 420 extra pale ale (-9.6%, to nearly $7.8 million).

In grocery, Blue Moon was the No. 1 craft brand by dollar sales (-2.9%, to $122.7 million), followed by Samuel Adams Seasonal (-5.3%, to $59.4 million) and Voodoo Ranger Imperial IPA (+5.8%, to $56.2 million).

Tilray-owned Shock Top Belgian White Ale (formerly owned by A-B) was the only yet-to-be-mentioned brand to make the top 30 list in grocery, ranking No. 27, despite a -23.5% decline in dollar sales, to $12.1 million.

5 Athletic Non-Alc Offerings Among Top 25 Craft Growth Brands of 2023

Seven of the top 25 craft growth brands in 2023 were NA offerings, according to BWC.

Five of those brands belong to dedicated NA brewer Athletic Brewing Company, including Run Wild IPA (No. 5 growth brand and No. 25 overall craft brand), Free Wave Hazy IPA (No. 10), Upside Dawn Golden (No. 12), Cerveza (No. 22), Athletic Lite (No. 25).

Athletic capped a big year as the No. 15 craft brand family in sales, which increased +80.6%, as volume measured in case sales increased +79.2%. Athletic was the No. 2 craft growth leader in 2023, increasing sales by more than $35.4 million, to $79.3 million, trailing only New Belgium Brewing, which increased sales +18.2%, to $514.8 million, adding more than $79.3 million in sales last year.

Of the top craft brand families, Athletic gained the most category weighted distribution (CWD) last year (+9.4%, to 27.4%). New Belgium was second (+3.7%, to 72.6%).

The other NA beers to make the cut as top growth brands in 2023 were Boston Beer’s Samuel Adams Just the Haze IPA (No. 15) and Lagunitas Hoppy Refresher assorted pack (No. 18).

Bump Williams Consulting: 2023 a ‘Mixed Bag’ Year for Craft

Bump Williams Consulting (BWC) described 2023 as a “mixed bag” for the overall craft segment across channels.

In NIQ-tracked off-premise channels (total U.S. xAOC plus liquor plus convenience), craft dollar sales edged close to flat, declining -0.3%, while volume dropped -3.8%, according to the firm, citing NIQ data ending December 30. Craft dollar sales in convenience increased +6.5%, while grocery (-1.4%) and liquor outlets (-5.6%) both declined.

The declines of mainstream craft brands accelerated (-7.5%) in 2023 compared to 2022 (-4.9%), the firm reported. National (+5.8%) and regional (+2.6%) posted dollar sales growth. However, local craft continued to decline, -2.9% in 2023, following declines of -7.1% in 2022 and -4.7% in 2021.

Just two regions eked out craft dollar sales growth: the Mountain region (+0.1%) and New England (+0.4%). The biggest sales declines occurred in the West North Central region (-4%), East North Central (-3.3%) and the Pacific
region (-2.4%).

The number of craft brands and SKUs declined -4.4% and -4.9%, respectively. There were 19,722 craft brands at the end of 2023, down from the 20,637 craft brands in 2022, and nearly on par with the 19,718 craft brands in 2021.

The number of SKUs dropped to 24,796, well below the 26,079 in 2022 and 25,238 in 2021.

The number of new craft brands and SKUs in 2023 declined -37% and -35.8%, respectively, compared to 2022. The 2,018 craft brands in 2023 was down from 3,202 in 2022 and 3,022 in 2021. The 2,632 craft SKUs in 2023 fell from 4,099 in 2022 and 3,776 in 2021.

BWC founder Bump Williams noted that beer shelf space remained “stagnant, with existing space instead being re-allocated across segments.”

Imports, FMBs and NA beer gained shelf space across all channels, while craft and cider singles gobbled up space
in convenience.