Brewers Association releases list of Top 50 U.S. Breweries

(Boulder, CO – MAY 14, 2010) The Brewers Association, the not-for-profit trade group that tabulates production statistics for U.S. breweries, released its annual lists reporting the top 50 brewing companies in the country. The ranking is based on 2009 beer sales volume.

There are two lists. The first list shows the Top 50 Craft Brewing Companies, which the Brewers Association defines as small and independent craft brewers (complete definition below). The second list shows the Top 50 Overall Brewing Companies, which includes the omnipresent macro-brewering leviathans, like Anheuser-Busch.

Of the top 50 Overall Brewing Companies, 76 percent are craft brewing companies. We like that.

Top 50 Craft Breweries (based on 2009 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 Spoetzl Brewery Shiner TX
5 Pyramid Breweries Inc. Seattle WA
6 Deschutes Brewery Bend OR
7 Matt Brewing Co. Utica NY
8 Magic Hat Brewing Co. Burlington VT
9 Boulevard Brewing Co. Kansas City MO
10 Harpoon Brewery Boston MA
11 Alaskan Brewing Co. Juneau AK
12 Bell’s Brewery, Inc. Galesburg MI
13 Kona Brewing Co. Kailua-Kona HI
14 Full Sail Brewing Co. Hood River OR
15 Stone Brewing Co. Escondido CA
16 Dogfish Head Craft Brewery Milton DE
17 The Brooklyn Brewery Brooklyn NY
18 Abita Brewing Co. Abita Springs LA
19 Summit Brewing Co. Saint Paul MN
20 Anchor Brewing Co. San Francisco CA
21 Shipyard Brewery Portland ME
22 New Glarus Brewing Co. New Glarus WI
23 Great Lakes Brewing Co. Cleveland OH
24 Rogue Ales/Oregon Brewing Co. Newport OR
25 Long Trail Brewing Co. Bridgewater Corners VT
26 The Lagunitas Brewing Co. Petaluma CA
27 Gordon Biersch Brewing Co. San Jose CA
28 SweetWater Brewing Co. Atlanta GA
29 Firestone Walker Brewing Co. Paso Robles CA
30 Victory Brewing Co. Downingtown PA
31 Flying Dog Brewing Co. Frederick MD
32 BJ’s Restaurant & Brewery Huntington Beach CA
33 Odell Brewing Co. Fort Collins CO
34 Rock Bottom Brewery Restaurants Louisville CO
35 BridgePort Brewing Co. Portland OR
36 Lost Coast Brewery and Cafe Eureka CA
37 Big Sky Brewing Co. Missoula MT
38 Stevens Point Brewing Co. Stevens Point WI
39 Mac and Jack’s Brewery Redmond WA
40 Karl Strauss Brewing Co. San Diego CA
41 The Saint Louis Brewery, Inc. St. Louis MO
42 Blue Point Brewing Co. Patchogue NY
43 Gordon Biersch Brewery Restaura… Chattanooga TN
44 Oskar Blues Brewery Longmont CO
45 North Coast Brewing Co. Fort Bragg CA
46 Breckenridge Brewery Denver CO
47 Utah Brewers Cooperative Salt Lake City UT
48 Saint Arnold Brewing Co. Houston TX
49 Boulder Beer Co. Boulder CO
50 Bear Republic Brewing Co. Cloverdale CA

The Top 50 Overall Breweries (based on 2009 sales volume)

Rank
Brewing Company City State
1 Anheuser-Busch InBev St. Louis MO
2 MillerCoors Brewing Co. Chicago IL
3 Pabst Brewing Co. Woodridge IL
4 D. G. Yuengling and Son Inc. Pottsville PA
5 Boston Beer Co. Boston MA
6 Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. Chico CA
7 New Belgium Brewing Co. Fort Collins CO
8 Craft Brewers Alliance, Inc. Portland OR
9 Spoetzl Brewery (part of Gambrinus) Shiner TX
10 High Falls Brewing Co. Rochester NY
11 Minhas Craft Brewery Monroe WI
12 Pyramid Breweries (part of IBU) Seattle WA
13 Deschutes Brewery Bend OR
14 F.X. Matt Brewing Co. Utica NY
15 Magic Hat Brewing Co. (part of IBU) Burlington VT
16 Boulevard Brewing Co. Kansas City MO
17 Harpoon Brewery Boston MA
18 Alaskan Brewing Co. Juneau AK
19 Bell’s Brewery, Inc. Galesburg MI
20 Goose Island Beer Co. Chicago IL
21 Kona Brewing Co. Kailua-Kona HI
22 Full Sail Brewing Co. Hood River OR
23 Stone Brewing Co. Escondido CA
24 Dogfish Head Craft Brewery Milton DE
25 Iron City Brewing Co. Pittsburgh PA
26 August Schell Brewing Co. New Ulm MN
27 The Brooklyn Brewery Brooklyn NY
28 Abita Brewing Co., L.L.C. Abita Springs LA
29 Summit Brewing Co. Saint Paul MN
30 Anchor Brewing Co. San Francisco CA
31 Shipyard Brewing Co. Portland ME
32 New Glarus Brewing Co. New Glarus WI
33 Great Lakes Brewing Co. Cleveland OH
34 Rogue Ales/Oregon Brewing Co. Newport OR
35 Long Trail Brewing Co. Burlington VT
36 The Lagunitas Brewing Co. Petaluma CA
37 Mendocino Brewing Co. Ukiah CA
38 Gordon Biersch Brewing Co. San Jose CA
39 SweetWater Brewing Co. Atlanta GA
40 Firestone Walker Brewing Co. Paso Robles CA
41 Victory Brewing Co. Downingtown PA
42 Flying Dog Brewing Co. Frederick MD
43 BJ’s Restaurant & Brewery Huntington Beach CA
44 Odell Brewing Co. Fort Collins CO
45 Rock Bottom Brewery Restaurants Louisville CO
46 Straub Brewery Saint Marys PA
47 BridgePort Brewing Co. (part of Gambrinus) Portland OR
48 Lost Coast Brewery & Cafe Eureka CA
49 Big Sky Brewing Co. Missoula MT
50 Stevens Point Brewery Co. Stevens Point WI

Notable changes and additions:

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  • Three new breweries have made their first appearance on the Top 50 Craft Brewing Companies list: Oskar Blues Brewery, Saint Arnold Brewing Co. and Bear Republic Brewing Co.
  • Stevens Point Brewery was added to the Top 50 Craft Brewing Companies list for 2008 and 2009, as the majority of its sales are now in traditional all-malt beers.
  • Independent Brewers United and Gambrinus, each with two separate brand families in the Top 50 Overall Brewing Companies list, are shown by their separate companies.
  • Flavored malt beverages are not considered beer for the Top 50 rankings.

The 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 2 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.

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7 thoughts on “Brewers Association releases list of Top 50 U.S. Breweries

  1. How the hell are Boston Beer and FX Matt considered craft breweries, and Widmer and Redhook are not? Ridiculous.

  2. It amazes me that that New Glarus does more volume than Rogue, yet they don’t send a drop out of Wisconsin.

  3. jeeves – Good point. Maybe because Craft Brewers Alliance is publicly traded? They don’t meet the BA definition of “independent?” I guess?
    Dave – Great point. New Glarus must have a serious corner on that market.
    Casper – Sticks and stone may break my bones, but Redhook still wins medals. 🙂

  4. i was getting at the same point you made about ownership, not trying to break bones. and redhook has indeed put out some surprisingly good beers lately.

  5. It probably should be noted that Mac and Jack’s Brewery is #39 and it’s only a REGIONAL brewer! As far as I know, and since I had to have it brought down to my wedding a few years ago in CA by family who DROVE, Mac and Jack’s isn’t available much outside of the Puget Sound area. I’ve been living here in the greater LA area for some time and we have NOTHING that comes close! Pretty awesome.

  6. I normally uses lists like this in planning my next vacation, but last year I threw my list out the window because most of the great micros will never make the list! Thanks for sharing.

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