From 2016 to 2018 Pennsylvania had a strong run as the number one producer in craft beer. However, the state recently fell to #2 as of 2019 according to data tracked by the Brewers Association, the countries foremost independent craft beer organization.

According to the data collected, Pennsylvania ranks #2 in the U.S for barrels of beer produced at 3,606,444; a decrease of 113,031 barrels from the previous year. The #1 state in craft beer production for 2019 was California at 3,664,080 barrels; which was a 200,000+ increase from 2018.

That isn’t the only category that PA ranks in the top part of the country. In fact, in most major categories the state ranks no lower than #5. Pennsylvania continued its place from last year at #2 in economic impact, #4 in gallons produced per 21+-year-old adult, #4 in impact per capita, and moved up one spot from the previous year to #5 in Craft Breweries per state. A total of 47 breweries were added from 2018 to 2019.

See all of the 2019 stats for yourself:

TRENDING UP AND DOWN

From 2018 to 2019 we saw trends heading in both directions.

Trending Up:

In most categories the Brewers Association tracks, Pennsylvania did see an uptick. Beer’s economic impact on the state increased from 6.3 billion from 5.7 billion the previous year. Impact per capita raised 657 from 615 in 2018. And breweries per capita jumped two spots in the country from 3.6 to 4.1 in 2019. The number of breweries operating in Pennsylvania also is at an all-time high at 401 and moving from 6th place in the country in 2018 to 5th place.

Trending Down:

One alarming number, as mentioned above, is that brewery growth for the year did see a significant dip. The data above tracks the number of breweries operating in the state since 2011. As you can see in the chart below, the number of breweries opening year over year in the state has been trending down for the last three years. With 2017 and 2018 being what some could consider “the boom”.

While some trends were down, most of the data stayed flat. With the global pandemic that the world is facing, there is no way to fully understand the impact 2020 will see in craft beer growth. Regardless, the state has never operated with this many breweries before, which should lead to a lot of new excitement and innovation. We look forward to what 2020 has to offer for PA Beer.