American Craft Beer The Best Craft Beer, Breweries, Bars, Brewpubs, Beer Stores, And Restaurants Serving Serious Beer.
The industry is seeing big export numbers again according to the Brewers Association, who are telling us that American craft beer export sales grew to an astounding $121 million in 2016.
Supported by the BA’s Export Development Program, craft beer export volume increased by 4.4 percent in 2016, now totaling 465,617 barrels.
American craft beer is thriving abroad and here are some of the highlights.
Pan Asia Ruled In 2016
While Western Europe showed more impressive growth in 2015, it was exports to Asia that really gained momentum last year. Not including Japan, the Asia-Pacific region grew an impressive 12.9 percent in 2016 and in Japan alone, they increased by an astounding 22.6 percent!
Proximity Remains A Kingmaker
Benefiting from its proximity to the US, Canada was again the leading international market for American craft beer, accounting for 54.8% percent of exports.
American Craft Beer Now in Demand All Around the Globe
Other leading importers were the United Kingdom, accounting for 10.1 percent; Sweden, 6.6 percent; Australia, 4.6 percent; and China, with 3.2 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 expect that many of these young breweries will grow and prosper.
Craft beer localism will grow its appeal, just as it has here in the states, and will eventually cut into some of the export exuberance that we are enjoying right now.
