Craft beer is losing its popularity in Canada, as sales decline and more breweries close.

After years of boundless growth for the craft beer industry, the party is coming to an end.

Beer sales have declined across the board and the number of breweries in Canada has begun to decline, a change driven by a mix of cost pressures and changing consumer tastes and social habits.

“A lot of us who were in it since the beginning of small breweries knew there had to be a little improvement at some point,” said Ben Lyon, co-founder and CEO of Dandy Brewing in Calgary.

“We weren’t supposed to ride this rocket ship forever.”

But while the hype surrounding craft beer may have died down in the 2010s, there are still businesses that are finding success by offering different drinks and taking a more expansive view of what a brewery can be.

Look Beer sales are falling across Canada:

goodbye to the golden age

In 2014, Leon opened the first location of his brewery inside a small warehouse in the northeast of the city.

It was a good time. Throughout North America, millennials were going crazy for craft beerAnd in Alberta, the government recently changed rules Helping microbreweries bring their products to market.

“There was a huge thirst for craft beer in Alberta,” said Lyons, who recalls receiving emails about new breweries opening almost every week. “It was a very wild time.”

A similar trend The 2010s saw a rapid emergence of craft breweries opening across the country.

According to the Canadian Craft Brewers Association, their taprooms were popular with both customers and governments, who saw craft breweries as a source of economic stimulus and a way to revitalize rural areas and dilapidated cities.

Christine Comeau, executive director of the association, said, “It was almost as if someone who dreamed of opening a brewery, or maybe someone who won an amateur brewing competition and they were running a small craft brewery out of their garage, suddenly got the opportunity to say, ‘I’ll get after this.’

“There was a lot of excitement behind it, a lot of funding.”

The golden age of craft beer continued from the late 2010s until the first phase of the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to this, between 2017 and 2022, the number of breweries in Canada is expected to increase from 676 to 1165. Beer writer and analyst Jason Foster, who tracks the numbers.

Breweries, beer sales are declining

But the party could not go on forever.

According to Foster’s analysis, after years of rapid growth, the number of breweries in Canada has leveled off and begun to shrink. He said the number of breweries in Canada is projected to decline by 2.9 per cent in 2025 and by 3.4 per cent from a year ago.

“A decade ago, the growth was so dramatic that seeing an end to that growth, in itself, is significant,” said Foster, who is also based in Edmonton. university professor and think-tank director.

“Now you have to be on top of your game… Bad beer will kill you – a good beer won’t save you.”

Beer Canada, an industry group that represents brewers, agrees that the number of breweries operating in 2024 will be down to a slightly lower level. It doesn’t have data for 2025 yet.

Beer sales have also been declining by about two percent a year for nearly five years, the group said.

And it’s not just craft brewers feeling the pinch; Their larger counterparts are also struggling with a slowdown in demand.

Statistics Canada data shows that peak beer sales occurred when the craft beer craze was still in its early days. Taking stock of the past two decades, the highest volume of retail beer sales occurred around 2010, and the highest volume of beer sales at liquor stores and other stores. Retailers – including the brewery’s taproom – have been gradually decreasing since then.

‘Everything bad that could happen, happened’

Calgary-based Evil Corporation Brewing receives a warm welcome cheekily named When Brews launched in 2019, it struggled to raise funds during the pandemic to open its taproom.

By the time the venue opened to the public in 2023, the allure of craft beer was waning and more customers were turning to alternatives like ready-to-drink cocktails – or in some cases forgoing alcohol altogether.

Ultimately, the brewery closed its doors in the spring of 2025.

“Anything bad that could have happened to us, inevitably happened to us,” said Quan Lee, the brewery’s former owner and co-founder.

“We just had to cut our losses and unfortunately learn from it and move on.”

Lee said he can’t blame his customers for cutting back — they too have given up drinking over the years.

Both young people And new canadians There’s a trend to drink less than previous generations, putting pressure on both craft and big brands, said Richard Alexander, president of Beer Canada.

He said it was becoming difficult to convince people to get out of their homes and go to the toilet because of concerns about affordability.

According to a survey conducted in November by Angus Reid for Restaurants Canada, 56 per cent of Canadians surveyed said they were eating out less, and 30 per cent said they had cut back on alcohol purchases to save money.

“(People) are going out, especially to restaurants and bars, less — that’s impacting sales,” Alexander said.

Their association also argues that Canadian beer is overtaxedWhich adds another cost pressure on consumers troubled by the high cost of living.

Others, like Comeau, argue that after years of almost unlimited growth, it is a normal correction to see some breweries close as the industry matures.

new ways to succeed

Even amid the difficult environment, some breweries are still succeeding by adapting to changing consumer preferences.

While it was once enough to sell customers a bag of chips or pretzels with their pint, these days successful taprooms are essentially doubling as restaurants, offering more and better food options, Foster said.

They’re also using the size of their venues to host events, from live music to trivia to weddings, and are moving beyond seltzers, canned cocktails and typical IPAs to offering non-alcohol options.

Sales have declined at Dandy Brewing in Calgary in recent years, but on a recent Thursday afternoon the brewery was still filling with customers.

Co-founder Leone said the brewery has revamped its menu in recent years to focus on pizza, and it has introduced a hard iced tea It has become one of its best-selling products.

In Lyon’s view, the craft beer party isn’t over yet – it’s just become a little less rowdy.

“It’s a little less balloons and party streamers and loud music at the party, and a little more sitting and talking,” he said.