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This past yr was another one for the record books, but not the good kind. US beer shipments were down more than 5% to ~183 mil bbls for full year 2025 vs 2024, Beer Inst, TTB and US Dept of Commerce data suggests. That amounts to a 10-mil-bbl drop in one year, the 2d tuffest decline in US beer history (post prohibition) only behind brutal yr in 2023 when shipments sank 5.2%, 10.8 mil bbls. But unlike 2023, beer price increases didn’t come close to offsetting volume loss with CPI for beer at home up just 1.1% for the year, suggesting brewers’ collective revenue likely posted the largest drop ever in a single year post-prohibition. That checks out, as 11 of the top 12 brewers posted volume declines in the US with virtually all down by $$ too. Ironically, leading spirits co Diageo, which is having difficulties in spirits, was the only top 12 brewer to grow volume. Diageo Beer Co USA volume up more than 4% for the yr, INSIGHTS estimates, while its core spirits biz down big. It surpassed Pabst to become the 7th-largest brewer in the US by volume. Top 3 Brewers Down for First Time Since 2009 Each of the top 3 brewers — AB, MC and STZ — saw beer volumes decline last yr. First time that’s happened since 2009, first yr after the mega-mergers of AB InBev and MillerCoors. Not so coincidentally, it’s also Constellation beer’s first decline since 2009 as shipments were off nearly 4%, trailing depletions by around 1 pt. Constellation still managed to gain 0.3 share of beer in the process, but saw a lotta internal change and external questions raised thruout as folks speculated on main decline drivers and whether STZ would be able to recover. (So far it rebounded nicely thru most of Feb, posting top growth and share gain in scans.) In this soft industry environment, AB beer’s ~4% shipments decline in 2025 amounted to the largest volume share gain in the country, up ~0.4 pts all-channel, INSIGHTS estimates. That’s a major shift for the leading brewer in the country as AB’s been shedding share of beer consistently thruout the ABI era. Keep in mind, AB’s US results are better yet including spirits RTDs and non-alc energy with its reported total US shipments and STRs down just 3.2% for the year. And sales are gaining momentum in early 2026, growing in scans to start the year, especially when including spirit RTD results with fast-paced growth from Cutwater in particular, plus incoming BeatBox acquisition. MC remains softest of the bunch. Its own-beer shipments volume was down ~7.6% in the US last year, partly impacted by shipments timing in Q4. So STRs were nearly 1 pt healthier. Non-beer’s growing in importance for Molson Coors Beverage Co too, as inclusion of incremental Fever-Tree and ZOA sales improved total US STRs to -5.9%. But either way, MC shed the most share in beer and posted the steepest volume decline. These three cos still make up over 70% of US beer volume, weighing down the category from the top last yr. MAB Outperformed; SAM 3-4 Pts Softer Ex Spirits; Couple Other Top Cos Held/Gained Share with Caveats Mark Anthony was the next best share gainer outside of AB and Constellation with shipments down 3.8%. Even better by $$, as lead brand White Claw improved thruout the yr while avg price rose at a faster rate (+3%) than most other top brand fams in scans, and that momentum carried into early 2026. Yuengling shipments held share in 2025 thanks to an added incremental boost from MI entry late last yr on top of IL. Yuengling’s growing to start 2026 with MI and IL still mostly all incremental, plus WI and IA launches. Kirin-Lion total volume was down low singles to 1.8 mil bbls in 2025, gaining share, tho trend was tuffer excluding incremental volume added by taking on Kirin Ichiban brand rights. Last yr was the first that New Belgium declined since Kirin acquired it and saw Voodoo Ranger take off to new heights. And Sierra Nevada maintained steady volume pace, down just 2% for the year with flattish $$, gaining share of both. Other brewers in the top 12 — HUSA, Pabst, Boston Beer, FIFCO USA — saw steeper beer/malt declines and share losses, tho Boston’s -8% trend in beer/FMB/cider improved by 3-4 pts including big growth from spirits RTDs. And all other suppliers below top 12 collectively down 5%, holding share in a challenging industry, INSIGHTS estimates. Boosted by growth from Athletic, Garage Beer, Geloso, BeatBox malt and more. Wine & Spirits RTDs Have ~4% of Broader Beer + RTD Volume Inclusion of wine & spirits RTDs in the broader beer category paints a prettier picture as those products grew double digits collectively again in 2025. They’d improve overall industry volume by 1 pt and $$ by closer to 2 pts if included with the broader beer/FMB/cider totals, INSIGHTS estimates. Wine & spirits RTDs amount to ~4% of total beer + RTD volume all-channel, around 8 mil bbl equivalents, we figure, driven by Gallo, AB/BeatBox, Surfside, Sazerac/BuzzBallz, Boston/Sun Cruiser plus Carbliss, Monaco, Long Drink and Patco/Big Sipz. But the broader beer + RTD category was still in decline last yr. So far, 2026 is off to a much better start thru Feb for beer in particular while RTDs keep hummin’. But it’s still early days.

US Beer Shipments Down 5% in ’25; 2d Tuffest Vol Hit, Tuffest $$ Hit Ever; Bright Spots Amid a Sea of Red for Top Brewers

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