Brewers Association CEO Bart Watson on the State of the Craft Beer
Jess Infante
Justin Kendall
Bart Watson
Bart Watson
Brewers Association
craft beer
State of the Industry
Craft Brewers Conference
brewery closures
advocacy
Great American Beer Festival
consumer perception
B.O.R.G.s
Brewers Association (BA) president and CEO Bart Watson entered the Brewbound Podcast studio last week fresh off stage from giving his State of the Industry speech at the 2025 Craft Brewers Conference (CBC).
Watson discussed key takeaways from his speech, including why the 4% volume decline for craft last year wasn’t everyone’s experience, as 43% of craft breweries found growth last year.
“You can have a number where yes, the middle it is negative, but there’s still lots of people on the positive side,” Watson explained during a conversation with Brewbound’s Jess Infante and Justin Kendall on the Brewbound Podcast.
Watson also discussed why the growing number of closures has hit the long-tail of craft breweries – those making fewer than 500 barrels of beer – the hardest.
“Running a small business is hard,” Watson said. “They’re just on the smallest line of, ‘OK, the landlord changes the rent when our lease is up.’ … Main Street gets torn up because the city is doing construction. It disrupts our traffic.’
“A 2,000-barrel brewery is going to have resources and options to weather that; a 500-barrel brewery might not,” he continued. “Those are members that we’re trying to think about how we help, how we drive foot traffic and what we can do to improve their conditions.”
The conversation touches on several topics, including:
- How the BA is advocating for its members with the Trump administration in Washington, D.C., and why it’s important for brewery owners to connect with lawmakers;
- Why full-strength spirits are being added to the Great American Beer Festival and how that’s manifesting in a way to support BA members;
- Whether the event could move away from Denver in the future;
- Why there is a perception versus reality issue with consumers when it comes to the flavors that craft offers beyond IPA;
- And his overall read on the vibe of CBC.
Ahead of the interview, the Brewbound team also discusses recent headlines, including Rhinegeist’s NA beer venture and Tilray CEO Irwin Simon’s honest thoughts on the company’s stock price. Plus, the team plays Another Round or Tabbing Out on the commercialization of B.O.R.G.s, and Zoe dishes on her motorsport adventures.