USA: Brewers Association reports almost 70% revenue decline in 2020

The Brewers Association said its revenues fell by almost 70% between the end of 2019 and the end of 2020, The Daily Camera reported on April 14.

In its annual report, the Boulder-based trade association said it generated revenues of just more than $9.73 million in 2020 versus $27.76 million in the year prior, and had a net loss of about $3.58 million.

The group also saw its total assets fall 20.9%, from $36.59 million at the end of 2019 to $28.94 million at the close of 2020.

Event revenues were the hardest-hit section of the BA’s earnings last year as the pandemic shut down most public gatherings, including the Great American Beer Festival. Its event-related revenues were $16.17 million in 2019, but plummeted to just $1.7 million in 2020.

The BA laid off almost a quarter of its employees last spring in anticipation of a difficult year for craft brewing in general. That sector of the brewing industry saw production volumes drop by 9% year-over-year as in-person tap sales plummeted from shutdowns and fear of COVID spread, along with challenges in acquiring resources to send canned beer to retailers.