U.S. Beer Production Fell to 74.58 Million Barrels in the First Half of 2026

U.S. beer production fell in the first half of 2026, reaching 74.58 million barrels from January through June, down 5.6% from the same period a year earlier, according to new data published by the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau, the Treasury Department agency that tracks the industry.

The figures were available as the TTB updated its beer statistics page on Tuesday with the first two state quarterly reports of 2026, covering March and June. The data provide one of the clearest federal snapshots of brewing activity in the country during the first six months of the year.

The decline in production was matched by a similar drop in beer removals subject to federal excise tax. Those taxable removals totaled 68.56 million barrels in the first half, compared with 72.67 million barrels in the same six months of 2025. That was a decrease of more than 4.1 million barrels, or 5.7%.

Taxable removals measure the volume of beer leaving breweries for consumption or sale in the United States. They are a key industry indicator, but they are not the same as final retail sales to consumers.

The year opened at a slower pace than 2025. In the first quarter, breweries produced 34.38 million barrels, down from 36.78 million barrels in the first quarter of last year. That amounted to a 6.5% decline, or about 2.41 million barrels.

Monthly production in the first quarter came to 10.50 million barrels in January, 10.36 million in February, and 13.52 million in March.

Production increased in the second quarter, as it usually does on a seasonal basis, but it still remained below last year’s level. Breweries made 40.20 million barrels from April through June, up 16.9% from the first quarter but down 4.7% from the 42.21 million barrels produced in the second quarter of 2025. The gap was just over 2 million barrels.

The monthly pattern in the second quarter showed steady gains. Production reached 12.72 million barrels in April, 13.44 million in May, and 14.04 million in June. Even so, June stayed below the 15.01 million barrels produced in June 2025, a year-over-year decline of about 6.4%.

The quarter-to-quarter comparison suggests the industry’s annual decline moderated in the spring. Production was down 6.5% in the first quarter and 4.7% in the second. The federal data show the change in pace, but they do not by themselves explain whether it came from shifts in demand, pricing, inventory strategy, or other business decisions.

Taxable removals followed a similar path. Breweries reported 31.33 million barrels in taxable removals in the first quarter, down 6% from 33.32 million barrels a year earlier. In the second quarter, taxable removals reached 37.23 million barrels, compared with 39.35 million in the same period of 2025, a 5.4% decline.

June was the strongest month of the half-year for both production and taxable removals. Breweries reported 14.04 million barrels produced and 13.48 million barrels removed under the taxable category. But both numbers were still below June 2025, when breweries reported 15.01 million barrels produced and 14.27 million barrels in taxable removals. That left June taxable removals down about 5.5% from a year earlier.

Exports moved in the opposite direction. Tax-free removals for export totaled 1.25 million barrels in the first half of 2026, up from 1.09 million barrels in the same period of 2025. That was an increase of 14.8%, equal to roughly 161,500 additional barrels.

Export activity rose in both quarters. Breweries reported 586,164 barrels for export in the first quarter, up 15.3% from a year earlier. In the second quarter, export removals reached 664,971 barrels, a 14.4% increase from the same period in 2025.

The jump was especially visible in June. Export removals that month came to 250,025 barrels, compared with 184,375 barrels in June 2025, an increase of about 35.6%. April posted 215,720 barrels for export, and May added 199,226 barrels. The national data do not identify destination countries, but they show that shipments abroad expanded while domestic production and taxable removals declined.

Beer inventories at reporting facilities were also lower than a year earlier. Stocks at the end of March stood at 9.57 million barrels, down 9.6% from 10.58 million barrels at the close of March 2025. By the end of June, inventories had risen to 9.86 million barrels, about 3.1% above the March level, but they were still 10.6% below the 11.04 million barrels reported at the end of June last year.

The TTB treats inventory as a point-in-time measure rather than a cumulative flow. That means the June figure represents beer on hand at the close of the month, not an amount to be added to earlier stock levels.

The agency says the statistics are based on operational reports filed by brewers. Those include the Brewer’s Report of Operations, the Quarterly Brewer’s Report of Operations, and, for brewers participating in the Tax Simplification Program, form Pilot-B. The reports are due by the 15th day of the month after the end of the filing period, and the monthly and quarterly state reports are generally generated about 45 days after that deadline.

The TTB also notes that, beginning with 2025 data, brewers in the tax simplification program no longer separate taxable removals by container type, such as bottles and cans versus kegs. As a result, federal reporting now shows taxable removals only as total volume.

The agency says its numbers can be revised if it later receives late reports or amended filings. It also notes that reports covering multiple months are counted in the final month of the reporting period, which can produce visible jumps in the number of reporting establishments in March and June. In some cases, the TTB withholds or limits publication of state figures when disclosure could reveal tax information about a specific company.