Beer Sales Up 4% This Year As Craft Trend Continues To Pour It On

SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF)- People are downing pints and pitchers at a faster pace this year.

BevNET reports that beer sales are up more than four percent in the U.S. compared to last year, and you can credit the growing taste for India pale ales and stouts, as craft beer sales are up more than 20%. Hard cider is also getting popular, with sales up about 40%.

Those categories are helping offset softer demand for imported beers, and craft beer sales continue to take a little more of the overall beer market each year, something that has prompted the big boys like Anheuser and Miller to make attempts at smaller labels.

The Brewers Association says there were 32,000 brewers operating in the U.S. in 2014, an all-time high, with expectations for another 2,000 breweries to open in the coming years.