Year in Beer: Brewery Closings Outpace Openings as Craft Wades through “Painful Period of Rationalization” 

Dear Client:  Brewery closings (399) officially outpaced openings (335) in 2024, the Brewers Association reported in its annual Year in Beer analysis today, marking the continued “painful period of rationalization” as “all signs point to production being down” even more than in 2023. It’s the first time in recent years that closings have outpaced openings (the last time was in the early 2000s), though in 2023 the gap between closings (385) and openings (420) had narrowed [see CBD 12-13-2023]. Still,