If you've walked the beer aisle lately, you've probably noticed that cans have all but taken over. The Brewers Association's latest packaging data confirms it: aluminum cans accounted for 78% of BA-defined craft beer packaged volume in 2025, up two percentage points from the year before. Glass bottles now sit at just 22%. The can takeover is real, but the pace of that shift is slowing, and brewers who rely on aluminum may want to pay attention to what's coming next.
Brewbound reported on the data on March 12, drawing from the Brewers Association's annual Value Quest packaging trends report. For years, cans have been gaining roughly three to four percentage points of share annually, but that growth has decelerated and the industry may be approaching a steady state where four out of five packaged craft beers are canned, and the remaining glass volume is either holding on in specific markets or simply harder to convert. Analysts point to a few factors: there's limited glass left to convert, consumer acceptance of aluminum is largely established, and aluminum tariffs may be having an effect. Whatever the mix of causes, the can share curve is flattening.
The picture looks different depending on where you are. State-by-state variation is significant. Rhode Island leads with 92% of packaged craft in cans, followed by Vermont at 89%, and Montana, Washington, and Utah each at 87%. On the other end, Mississippi sits at 56%, with Kansas, Louisiana, and Nebraska in the high 50s and South Dakota at 65%. The Brewers Association's report suggests that occasion plays a role. In states where craft consumption is tied to outdoor activities, cans dominate. Where craft is positioned around more special occasions and the ritual of opening a bottle still holds appeal, bottles retain share. There's also a directional correlation between higher can share and higher urban population share, though the relationship isn't strong. The takeaway for Midwest brewers is that regional preferences still matter, and the national average doesn't tell the whole story.
Pack size trends add another layer. Six-packs remain the largest segment at 45% of BA craft volume and dollar sales, though that's down from 47% in 2022. Twelve-packs have gained ground to 31%, singles sit at 8%, and 24-packs account for 2%. The only major pack size that grew in volume from 2024 to 2025 was 24-packs, which grew 6%. The report frames these shifts as a value-conscious consumer moving toward extremes: lower register spend through singles (often higher ABV) or better value per container through 12- and 24-packs. The middle ground is softening.
Meanwhile, supply constraints are on the horizon. Ball Corporation, the world's largest metal beverage container manufacturer, has announced that 2026 can production is "sold out." U.S. demand for aluminum cans continues to grow at roughly 2% in 2025, and Ball will be capacity constrained until a new Millersburg, Oregon, facility comes online later in 2026. The company has closed older plants in New York, Arizona, and Minnesota. The Brewers Association has encouraged members to communicate early with their can suppliers to secure adequate supply. For smaller breweries planning packaging runs, that heads-up could make a real difference.
The broader context is sobering. BA-defined craft represented 5.7% of Nielsen IQ's off-premise dataset in 2025, down from 5.9% in 2024. Across all U.S. retailers, BA craft volume declined 6.6% in 2025, with dollar sales down 5.2%. Convenience and food channels held up slightly better than the total market, while liquor stores saw steeper declines. Packaged craft is not moving in one direction, but the patterns are clear: aluminum share is leveling off, growth is concentrated in value-driven formats, and channel performance is varied.
For Midwest brewers and anyone watching the packaged craft segment, the next chapter is about what happens when growth slows and supply tightens. The can is the default package for craft beer now, and the question is how the industry adapts when the curve flattens and capacity gets scarce.
Sources
Kendall, Justin. "Cans 78% BA-Defined Craft in 2025, Share Growth Slowing." Brewbound. March 12, 2026. https://www.brewbound.com/news/cans-78-ba-defined-craft-in-2025-share-growth-slowing (Accessed March 2026).
Brewers Association. "Value Quest: 2025 Packaging Trends." Brewers Association Insights. https://www.brewersassociation.org/insights/value-quest-2025-packaging-trends/ (Accessed March 2026).
Brewers Association. "Ball: 2026 Can Production 'Sold Out'." Brewers Association Brewing Industry Updates. https://www.brewersassociation.org/brewing-industry-updates/ball-2026-can-production-sold-out/ (Accessed March 2026).