Spain: Craft brewers are in turmoil

The claim for the authentic and the local has urged the beer sector to turn its sights towards the artisanal segment, a gold mine both in price and volume that promises to continue gaining market share, as analyzed in the latest Report. 2023 of the Beer sector in Spain published by Alimarket. According to data from the report from the DBK Sectorial Observatory of Informa, the production of craft beer in our country has increased by 16.7% in 2022, reaching 24.4 Ml and €72 M (+24%), beating the record segment history. However, this wave of growth does not seem to have swept away small production breweries: according to data provided by Cerveceros España, those with production volumes of less than 5 Ml have closed 2022 with a 3% drop in both production and number of operating centers, a sectoral indentation that sketches a much less optimistic portrait of the market. The comparison with the pre-pandemic exercise is even darker: compared to 2019, there have been 35% fewer breweries ...