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U.S. craft beer is becoming more entrenched in aluminum cans, but the trend away from bottles is approaching a breaking point, according to 2025 data and a recent analysis from the Brewers Association.
According to the Brewers Association, in 2025 aluminum cans will account for 78% of packaged craft beer production, while glasses will account for 22%. This reflects the steady rise of cans and the decline of glass in recent years, reaching 69% and 31% respectively in 2022.
However, board trends vary greatly from state to state.
In Rhode Island, where 92% of craft beer is in cans, “there’s not a lot of room to offer. There’s always going to be some brands that are in bottles,” said Matt Gacioch, an economist at the Brewers Association, which represents thousands of small, independent brewers. Conversely, states like Mississippi, Kansas and Louisiana, where cans have a share of about 58% or less, have more room for aluminum share to grow, he noted.
Tariffs and other operating costs remain challenging for brewers. “If you try to package something other than cans, there are a lot of conversion costs,” he said, noting that many brewers have their own canning lines. “So the idea that you’re suddenly going to have to scrap that product and invest in a whole new bottling line or something like that because of increased costs is not reality.”
Craft brewers are in the difficult position of having to absorb the costs or pass some of them on to consumers, Gacioch said. And its impact has not yet been fully realized. “Instead of taking inventory of aluminum now, the tariff price increases will be felt a lot when we re-contract or place our next large order,” he said.
Anecdotally, the price premium for glass over aluminum packaging has decreased, Gacioch said.
Although six-packs remain the most common format for selling beer, with a 45% share, sales of other formats are also increasing. According to the report, single beers currently account for 8% of craft beer production. The popularity of 19.2-ounce cans of beer for individual sale is also increasing. By 2025, these “stove” cans accounted for 60% of single beer sales, up from 55% in 2024.
Conversely, 24-packs also became more popular in 2025. According to the report, this product “represented just 2% of total BA craft volume in 2025, but was the only major pack size growing year-on-year.” Average case price fell 4.6% year-over-year, while sales volume increased 6.4%.
Consumers seek perceived value regardless of container size, Gacioch said.
“I go to the liquor store and buy a 19.2 for less than $5. I felt good about it when I bought it,” he said. “Conversely, we’ve seen an increase in 12-packs and 24-packs, which indicates some consumers are saying, ‘If I’m going to buy beer, I want the unit price to go down.’”
“There will continue to be uncertainty felt by consumers in the first two months of 2026, so I wouldn’t be surprised to see further consolidation of these kinds of value packs in larger pack sizes or smaller pack sizes, taking share from six-packs,” Gacioch added.
He also expects the share between bottles and cans to continue to shift.
“My crystal ball prediction is that we are leveling off somewhat. I wouldn’t be surprised if cans take 1 or 2 percentage points more share or fall by 1 percentage point. I don’t think it will go down much more than that.” By 2026, Cans’ occupancy rate will again be in the low 70s, he said.
That said, “no one can predict right now whether there will be additional tariffs or other disruptions to supply chains that could completely shake things up.”
In addition to the tariffs, beer, especially craft beer, has gone through some tough times as consumers’ drinking preferences evolve and sales have declined in recent years.
The most important thing, Gacioch said, is for brewers to communicate well with their packaging suppliers.
“I think keeping these lines of communication open is the best approach to getting through all of this uncertainty together right now.”
