Texas’ once-booming craft beer industry is grappling with a significant downturn, as brewery closures outpaced openings in 2024 and overall production declined sharply.
Newly released data from the Brewers Association shows that craft beer production in Texas fell to 1.369 million barrels in 2024, marking an 8.7% decrease from the previous year. This contraction has also translated into a reduced economic footprint, with the industry contributing approximately $4.7 billion to the state economy—a 10.6% decline from 2023.
The Texas Craft Brewers Guild reports that 29 craft breweries shut down in 2024, while only 22 opened. This trend reflects a broader national pattern, as brewery openings in Texas slowed by more than half compared to the previous year. Notably, Central Texas saw the closure of several operations, including Bluemont Vineyard and Brewery in Stonewall, Tanglefoot Brewing in Temple, and Last Stand Brewing in South Austin.
While demand for craft beer has softened, experts caution against attributing the industry’s struggles solely to consumer interest. David Kulczar of Craft Beer Austin, a group monitoring the local scene since the pandemic, emphasized the multifaceted reasons behind closures, ranging from mismanagement and overexpansion to unfortunate location choices.
“Some of it’s definitely demand,” Kulczar said, “but I don’t think that’s changed to the degree that that’s driving closures as much as some of the other issues.”
Nationally, the picture is similarly grim. U.S. craft beer production dropped by 4% in 2024 to 23.1 million barrels—the steepest decline outside of the pandemic. For the first time in two decades, the number of small, independent breweries in the U.S. decreased, with 501 closures outpacing 434 openings.
The shift in consumer preferences is a key factor. As younger demographics gravitate toward alternatives like hard seltzers, CBD- and THC-infused drinks, and nonalcoholic beverages, many brewers are recalibrating. Caroline Wallace, executive director of the Texas Craft Brewers Guild, noted that some breweries are reducing seasonal offerings to concentrate on core products, or are increasing production of their own lines of seltzers.
“We definitely have some breweries that their beer production has declined because they’ve chased those newer beverages,” Wallace said.
Looking ahead, 2025 offers little optimism for a rebound. Small brewers face mounting costs due to tariffs on equipment, kegs, aluminum cans, and key ingredients such as hops and grain. These economic pressures are forcing many to postpone expansion plans, raise prices, or absorb financial losses, further straining the sector’s resilience.
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