Craft beer sales continued to bubble over in 2015, another year of double-digit increases that added up to a 12 percent stake of the U.S. beer market, according to Brewers Association data released Tuesday.

Craft brewers — independent producers that brew 6 million or fewer barrels annually — churned out 24.5 million barrels of beer last year, representing a 13 percent jump in production volume.

The craft segment has seen double-digit growth for eight of the past 10 years, Brewers Association statistics show.

Retail dollar sales climbed 16 percent to $22.3 billion, according to the Brewers Association, a Boulder-based trade group for craft brewers.

“I do think there’s a ceiling, but I don’t think there’s anything in the data that was released today to show that we’re anywhere near it,” said Bart Watson, the trade group’s chief economist.

The production growth is starting to slow in some craft-beer markets such as Colorado, where it accounts for 26 percent of suds sales.

“Certainly, it becomes harder to grow at the same percentage rate when that base gets larger,” Watson said.

U.S. brewing operations hit a record 4,269 in 2015, up 15 percent from the year before. Small and independent breweries represent 99 percent of the total in operation, the Brewers Association said.

And even more brewery openings could be on the horizon, Watson said, noting that 6,000 licenses are on file with the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau.

The Brewers Association expects to release state-specific sales and operation data this month. In 2014, the craft-beer industry contributed $1.15 billion to Colorado’s economy, according to the Colorado Brewers Guild.

Craft brewers are defined by the trade association as “small, independent and traditional,” with annual production of no more than 6 million barrels; an ownership structure in which less than 25 percent of the operation is controlled by an alcoholic beverage industry member that is not itself a craft brewer; and a beverage alcohol volume that consists mostly of traditional ingredients.

As craft brewing has grown, so has consolidation. Multinational brewing conglomerates such as Anheuser-Busch InBev are snapping up regional craft brewers across the U.S. — including Colorado’s Breckenridge Brewery. Venture-backed craft brewers, such as Oskar Blues, are acquiring smaller players.

The buyouts are occurring in the shadow of AB InBev’s colossal acquisition of SABMiller and Molson Coors’ related $12 billion deal for the half of MillerCoors it does not already own.

“I think the market advantages these formerly independent brewers will have now will create new competitive challenges for independent brewers in the marketplace,” Watson said. “I think it’s worrisome the world’s largest brewing company is going to get even larger.”

Additionally, craft brewers have expressed concern about the potential ripple effects of AB InBev’s growing control of beer distribution as well as a potential Colorado ballot measure that would allow supermarkets and convenience stores to carry full-strength beer and wine. The latter, they argue, would benefit large brewers and put mom-and-pop liquor stores out of business.

Alicia Wallace: 303-954-1939, awallace@denverpost.com or @aliciawallace