USA: Craft beer sales continued to contract in April

Flavored malt beverages and seltzers are on the comeback, while craft beer continued to contract according to the April 2025 Beer Purchasers� Index (BPI) from The National Beer Wholesalers Association (NBWA), Craft Brewing Business reported on May 1.

The BPI is the only forward-looking indicator for distributors to measure expected beer demand. The index surveys beer distributors� purchases across different segments and compares them to previous years. A reading greater than 50 indicates the segment is expanding, while a reading below 50 indicates the segment is contracting.

The April Beer Purchasers� Index recorded a year-over-year decrease to 38 while the at-risk inventory measure rose to 54. The combination of these index readings continues to place the industry in contractionary territory.

The FMB/seltzer reading for April 2025 at 43 is three-points higher than the April 2024 reading at 40. The FMB segment is the only segment to post a higher reading in April 2025 compared to April 2024. This is 14th consecutive month of YoY improvement � the segment�s first such streak since 2019/2020.

The Imports segment returned to expansionary territory following its first month in contraction since 2020, with an April 2025 reading of 51. Still: that is 22 points below last April�s reading of 73.

The craft index at 20 for April 2025 continues to signal contraction in this segment and is 16-points lower than the April 2024 reading at 36.

The premium lights index fell to 38 for April 2025, 25-points lower than the April 2024 reading at 63.

The premium regular index fell to 37 for April 2025, 22-points lower than the April 2024 reading at 59.

The below premium segment for April 2025 at 46 is seven-points lower than the April 2024 reading of 53.

Finally, the cider segment posted an April 2025 reading at 29 compared to 39 for April 2024.

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