History Made: 2015 Marked a New Record in Number of Breweries in United States

In 2015, Illinois ranked 10 in the number of breweries. Note: California, Washington State, and Colorado were the three states with the most number of breweries. Mississippi, North Dakota, and West Virginia were the three states with the least number of breweries.

2015 marked a historical year for the beer economy in the U.S., according to the Brewers Association. In November that year, 4,144 breweries were in the U.S., the highest number since 1873, when there were 4,131 breweries. According to Bart Watson, Chief Economist of the Brewers Association, the record number of breweries in the U.S. was a “remarkable achievement.” Overall, in 2015, 4,269 breweries were present in the U.S.

In 2015, Illinois joined California, Washington State, Colorado, Oregon, New York State, Texas, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Florida, Ohio, Virginia, Wisconsin, Indiana, and Minnesota as the 10th state with over 100 breweries. Overall, California had over 500 breweries, the highest number in all 50 states. Mississippi had the fewest number of breweries of all 50 states with only eight breweries.

Since 2015, the number of breweries in the U.S. has increased. Despite the coronavirus pandemic, the number of breweries continued to grow in 2020. During the pandemic, over eight thousand breweries were in the United States. As of 2020, California continues to have the most breweries of all 50 states. However, Illinois is now ranked 12 in the number of breweries for this year.