Why are we not surprised by this?

Big export numbers again! That’s according to the Brewers Association who are telling us that American craft beer exports topped $116 million in 2015.

Clearly American craft beer is thriving abroad and here are some highlights.

Supported by the BA’s Export Development Program, craft beer export volume increased by an impressive 16.3 percent in 2015, now totaling 446,151 barrels.

Western Europe Rules!

Growth was seen in all major markets, but most notably in Western Europe which saw a 33.4 percent increase, which must be sweet news for Stone Brewing’s Berlin-based operation.

The BA’s data, not surprisingly, showed the fastest growth in Ireland, the Netherlands, Thailand and Taiwan in 2015.

Proximity Remains A Kingmaker

Benefitting from its proximity to the state, Canada was understandably the leading international market for American craft beer, accounting for 51 percent of exports.

Global Growth Spreads “Down Under”

Sweden, Ireland and the United Kingdom each took a market share of approximately 10 percent.  And the top five was rounded out by Australia, which accounted for 4 percent of exports.

Bottom Line

Undoubtedly American craft beer has established itself as an economic force in the global arena – and these numbers only reinforce that fact.

That said, we don’t expect these export numbers to grow unabated.

Inspired by the America craft beer movement, brewers all over the globe have begun building their own businesses. We predict that many of these young breweries will prosper and grow their own following. We also expect that craft beer localism will triumph abroad, as it has here in the states, and that their success will eventually cut into some of the export exuberance that we are enjoying right now.

But for now American craft beer is thriving abroad…and the Brewers Association’s update remains good news for all of us.