U.S. beer market: leading imported beer brands 2024, based on sales

Modelo was the leading imported beer brand in the U.S. with about five billion U.S. dollars worth of sales for the 52 weeks ended May 19, 2024. Total category sales amounted to approximately 11.23 billion U.S. dollars. 

U.S. beer market

Based on per capita consumption, beer is the most preferred alcoholic beverage in the United States. Beer is obtained through a beer manufacturing process called brewing. The final beer varieties range from less than 3 percent alcohol by volume to about 14 percent alcohol by volume. Most beer types contain alcohol between 4 and 6 percent by volume.

The beer market in the United States is characterized by large breweries, mid-sized breweries and microbreweries, all of which brew a vast variety of craft beer. Many kinds of beer go through a so-called three-tier system which is comprised of suppliers, wholesalers, and retailers. The alcoholic drinks must be sold by their supplier, which can be a national brewery or an importer, to the wholesaler or distributor, who in turn sells the beer further to a retailer.

The leading best-selling imported beer brands of the United States predominantly include Mexican beer brands such as Corona, Modelo Especial and Dos Equis. Modelo Especial is owned by the Mexican beer manufacturer and distributor Grupo Modelo, which was founded in 1925. As of late, the company brews and distributes 14 brands and is present in more than 180 countries.