The Top 50 Breweries in the USA

I love this time of year. The days are getting long and the air is slowly warming. Baseball season has begun and the fruit trees are in bloom. It is spring: the season of hope. For beer geeks like us this is also the time of year that the Brewers Association releases all sorts of statistics about the previous year. For instance, last week we shared the news that U.S. craft beer exports were up significantly in 2011. Who knew that people in Brazil craved our beer?

The Brewers Association has released its list of the Top 50 Breweries in America. There are things we can learn from this list. Be sure to pay attention to the footnotes and the caveats.

PRESS RELEASE

Brewers Association Releases Top 50 Breweries in 2011

Boulder, CO • April 17, 2012 – The Brewers Association—the not-for-profit trade group that tabulates production statistics for U.S. breweries—today released its annual lists of the top 50 craft and overall brewing companies in the U.S., based on 2011 beer sales volume. Of the top 50 overall brewing companies, 36 are small and independent¹ craft brewing companies¹,².


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“In the last 15 years, craft brewing has gone from one percent of the overall beer market to almost six percent in 2011,” said Paul Gatza, director of the Brewers Association. “We attribute a large part of that growth to the many talented brewers who are providing beer lovers with more beer style and flavor choices than ever before.”

Top 50 Craft Brewing Companies
(Based on 2011 beer sales volume)

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 Rank Brewing Company City State
1 Boston Beer Co. Boston MA
2 Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. Chico CA
3 New Belgium Brewing Co. Fort Collins CO
4 The Gambrinus Company San Antonio TX
5 Deschutes Brewery Bend OR
6 Matt Brewing Co. Utica NY
7 Bell’s Brewery, Inc. Galesburg MI
8 Harpoon Brewery Boston MA
9 Lagunitas Brewing Co. Petaluma CA
10 Boulevard Brewing Co. Kansas City MO
11 Stone Brewing Company Escondido CA
12 Dogfish Head Craft Brewery Milton DE
13 Brooklyn Brewery Brooklyn NY
14 Alaskan Brewing & Bottling Co. Juneau AK
15 Long Trail Brewing Co. Burlington VT
16 Shipyard Brewing Co. Portland ME
17 Abita Brewing Co. Abita Springs LA
18 Great Lakes Brewing Co. Cleveland OH
19 New Glarus Brewing Co. New Glarus WI
20 Full Sail Brewing Co. Hood River OR
21 Summit Brewing Co. St. Paul MN
22 Anchor Brewing Co. San Francisco CA
23 Firestone Walker Brewing Co. Paso Robles CA
24 Sweetwater Brewing Co. Atlanta GA
25 Rogue Ales Newport OR
26 Flying Dog Brewery Frederick MD
27 Victory Brewing Co. Downingtown PA
28 CraftWorks Breweries & Restaurants Chatta./Louis. TN/CO
29 Oskar Blues Brewery Longmont CO
30 Odell Brewing Co. Fort Collins CO
31 Stevens Point Brewery Co. Stevens Point WI
32 Ninkasi Brewing Co. Eugene OR
33 BJ’s Chicago Pizza & Brewery, Inc. Huntington Beach CA
34 Blue Point Brewing Co. Patchogue NY
35 Bear Republic Brewing Co. Cloverdale CA
36 Lost Coast Brewery Cafe Eureka CA
37 Big Sky Brewing Co. Missoula MT
38 North Coast Brewing Co. Inc. Fort Bragg CA
39 Saint Louis Brewery, Inc./Schlafly Bottleworks St. Louis MO
40 Gordon Biersch Brewing Co. San Jose CA
41 Breckenridge Brewery Denver CO
42 Founders Brewing Co. Grand Rapids MI
43 Saint Arnold Brewing Co. Houston TX
44 Karl Strauss Brewing Co. San Diego CA
45 Real Ale Brewing Co. Blanco TX
46 Mac and Jack’s Brewery Inc. Redmond WA
47 Smuttynose Brewing Co. Portsmouth NH
48 Utah Brewers Cooperative Salt Lake City UT
49 Left Hand Brewing Co. Longmont CO
t.50 Anderson Valley Brewing Co. Boonville CA
t.50 Four Peaks Brewing Co. Tempe AZ

 

Top 50 Brewing Companies
(Based on 2011 beer sales volume)

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Rank Brewing Company City State
1 Anheuser-Busch Inc. (a) St. Louis MO
2 MillerCoors (b) Chicago IL
3 Pabst Brewing Co. (c) Woodbridge IL
4 D. G. Yuengling and Son Inc. Pottsville PA
5 Boston Beer Co. Boston MA
6 North American Breweries (d) Rochester NY
7 Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. Chico CA
8 New Belgium Brewing Co. Fort Collins CO
9 Craft Brewers Alliance, Inc. (e) Portland OR
10 The Gambrinus Company (f) San Antonio TX
11 Deschutes Brewery Bend OR
12 Matt Brewing Co. (g) Utica NY
13 Bell’s Brewery, Inc. Galesburg MI
14 Minhas Craft Brewery (h) Monroe WI
15 Harpoon Brewery Boston MA
16 Lagunitas Brewing Co. Petaluma CA
17 Boulevard Brewing Co. Kansas City MO
18 Stone Brewing Co. Escondido CA
19 Dogfish Head Craft Brewery Milton DE
20 Brooklyn Brewery Brooklyn NY
21 Alaskan Brewing and Bottling Co. Juneau AK
22 Long Trail Brewing Co. Burlington VT
23 August Schell Brewing Co. (i) New Ulm MN
24 Shipyard Brewing Co. Portland ME
25 Abita Brewing Co. Abita Springs LA
26 World Brews/Winery Exchange (j) Novato CA
27 Great Lakes Brewing Co. Cleveland OH
28 New Glarus Brewing Co. New Glarus WI
29 Full Sail Brewing Co. Hood River OR
30 Pittsburgh Brewing Co. Pittsburgh PA
31 Summit Brewing Co. St. Paul MN
32 Anchor Brewing Co. San Francisco CA
33 Firestone Walker Brewing Co. Paso Robles CA
34 Cold Spring Brewing Co. (k) Cold Spring MN
35 Sweetwater Brewing Co. Atlanta GA
36 Rogue Ales Brewery Newport OR
37 Mendocino Brewing Co. (l) Ukiah CA
38 Flying Dog Brewery Frederick MD
39 Victory Brewing Co. Downingtown PA
40 CraftWorks Breweries & Restaurants (m) Chatt./Louis. TN/CO
41 Oskar Blues Brewery & Tasty Weasel Tap Room Longmont CO
42 Odell Brewing Co. Fort Collins CO
43 Stevens Point Brewery Co. (n) Stevens Point WI
44 Ninkasi Brewing Co. Eugene OR
45 BJ’s Chicago Pizza & Brewery Huntington Beach CA
46 Blue Point Brewing Co. Patchogue NY
47 Bear Republic Brewing Co. Cloverdale CA
48 Goose Island Brewing Co. (o) Chicago IL
49 Lost Coast Brewery and Cafe Eureka CA
50 Narragansett Brewing Co. Providence RI

*Top 50 U.S. Overall Brewing Companies notes: (a) includes Bass, Beck’s, Busch, Goose Island, Landshark, Michelob, Rolling Rock, Shock Top and Wild Blue brands. Does not include partially owned Coastal, Kona, Red Hook and Widmer Brothers brands; (b) includes A.C. Golden, Batch 19, Blue Moon, Colorado Native, Herman Joseph, Keystone, Killian’s and Leinenkugel’s brands; (c) includes Schlitz and 28 other brand families; (d) includes Dundee, Genesee, Labatt Lime, Magic Hat and Pyramid brands; (e) includes Kona, Red Hook and Widmer Brothers brands; (f) includes BridgePort, Shiner and Trumer brands; (g) includes Flying Bison brands; (h) includes Mountain Crest and 10 other brand families; (i) includes Grain Belt brand; (j) private label brands; (k) includes Gluek and 17 other brand families; (l) includes Butte Creek, Kingfisher and Olde Saratoga brands; (m) includes A1A, Big River, Gordon Biersch Brewery Restaurants, Rock Bottom Restaurants, Ragtime and Seven Bridges brewpubs; (n) includes James Page and Whole Hog brands; (o) sold to Anheuser-Busch in 2011.

The Association’s full 2011 industry analysis, which shows regional trends and sales by individual breweries, will be published in the May/June issue of The New Brewer, available May 22, 2012.

For additional statistics, see the craft brewing statistics, and 2011 craft brewer sales numbers.

¹The definition of a craft brewer as stated by the Brewers Association: An American craft brewer is small, independent, and traditional. Small: Annual production of beer less than 6 million barrels. Beer production is attributed to a brewer according to the rules of alternating proprietorships. Flavored malt beverages are not considered beer for purposes of this definition. Independent: Less than 25% of the craft brewery is owned or controlled (or equivalent economic interest) by an alcoholic beverage industry member who is not themselves a craft brewer. Traditional: A brewer who has either an all malt flagship (the beer which represents the greatest volume among that brewer’s brands) or has at least 50% of its volume in either all malt beers or in beers which use adjuncts to enhance rather than lighten flavor.

²Flavored malt beverages are not considered beer for the Top 50 rankings.

Contact:
Abby Berman (on behalf of the Brewers Association)
abby@rosengrouppr.com
646.695.7044

###

The Brewers Association is the not-for-profit trade association dedicated to small and independent American brewers, their craft beers and the community of brewing enthusiasts. The Brewers Association (BA) represents more than 70 percent of the brewing industry, and its members make more than 99 percent of the beer brewed in the U.S. The BA organizes events including the World Beer Cup®, Great American Beer Festival®, Craft Brewers Conference and BrewExpo America®, SAVOR℠: An American Craft Beer & Food Experience and American Craft Beer Week. The BA publishes The New Brewer magazine and its Brewers Publications division is the largest publisher of contemporary and relevant brewing literature for today’s craft brewers and homebrewers.

Beer lovers are invited to learn more about the dynamic world of craft beer at CraftBeer.com and about homebrewing via the BA’s American Homebrewers Association. Follow us on Twitter.

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