We already have the data of craft beer consumption in Catalonia for 2018. One more year, the GECAN and the Barcelona Beer Festival have published the sector’s reference report, “Craft beer status in Catalonia”, where annual consumption and production evolution are analyzed.
Continued growth
Year 2007 was the “O year” for craft beer in Catalonia, since then, craft beer consumption hasn’t stopped growing so, what it was years ago a newborn sector, can be considered today as a consolidated market that keeps growing year after year. This year craft beer production has increased by 20% and surpasses the 4,7 million liters produced in one year. This figure have special relevance if we compare it with production in 2012 when it didn’t even reached the million liter per year. Therefore, craft beer in Catalonia has grown a 504% in only 6 years.
Source: “Estat de la cervesa artesana a Catalunya 2018” made by GECAN and Barcelona Beer Festival
Craft brewers consolidation in Catalonia
Catalan craft beer consumption and production has been growing since the beginning but, what is new this year is the way how this growth has been achieved. Production growth was usually boosted by a growth in the number of brewers but, this year, the total number of Catalan craft breweries has only increased in two, establishing the total number of craft breweries in 109. Despite this little growth in the number of breweries, production has increased by 20%, therefore, this production growth has been reached thanks to the production increase of brewers that already existed. Annual production by brewery has grown from 46.000 liters in 2017 to 51.300 in 2018.
This production growth puts Catalan craft beer in the 1,8% of total market value, being in a clear growing trend after having reached the 1% in 2016 and the 1,3% in 2017. Despite that, this figures are still far from the ones for the craft beer leading market. In the USA, craft beer represents the 24% of total market value.
Regarding packaging, the 35% of the total production is stored in kegs while the other 65% is distributed in cans and bottles.
Future
How Catalan craft breweries see the future? Among its predictions, optimism and growth plans are the most common:
The 74% of Catalan craft brewers believe that production will grow while the 69% think that they will increase their market share and the 56% is thinking about hiring new workers.
Good results and forecasts for craft beer in Catalonia.