Georgetown Brewing breaks into the top 50

 

Every year the Brewers Association releases its list of the Top 50 Craft Breweries in America. That is, its list of the 50 top-producing craft breweries in America based on sales volume. Some years, I publish it here on the Washington Beer Blog. When I do, there are usually a few people who only read the headline, don’t read the copy, and then immediately scroll down, hoping to find that their favorite brewery made the list. Again, this list has nothing to do with best.

Historically, the Top 50 Craft Breweries list is void of any breweries from Washington state, but in 2018 a local brewery finally cracked the top 50. Seattle’s Georgetown Brewing made the grade, coming in at number 41. It’s quite an impressive feat that they’ve grown to this size while still remaining, basically, a local brewery. Georgetown Brewing sells the vast majority of its beer right here in Washington. A lot of the other breweries on the list benefit from the pursuit of wider distribution.

The Brewers Association defines a craft brewery as one that is “small and independent,” among other things. Basically, this excludes the likes of Anheuser-Busch, MillerCoors, Elysian Brewing, Goose Island and other non-indie beer companies. Those breweries are included on a different list: the Top 50 Overall Brewing Companies. Comparing the two lists, 40 of the breweries on the Overall Breweries list are deemed small and independent (craft) by the Brewers Association. That is, 40 of the 50 biggest breweries qualify as craft breweries.


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Based on sales volume, here is the list of the Top 50 Craft Breweries in America.

1 . D. G. Yuengling & Son Inc.
2. Boston Beer Co.
3. Sierra Nevada Brewing Co.
4. New Belgium Brewing Co.
5. Duvel Moortgat
6. Gambrinus
7 . Bell’s Brewery Inc.
8 . CANarchy
9 . Stone Brewing Co.
10. Deschutes Brewery
11. Artisanal Brewing Ventures
12. Brooklyn Brewery
13. Dogfish Head Craft Brewery
14. SweetWater Brewing Co.
15. Minhas Craft Brewery
16. New Glarus Brewing Co.
17. Matt Brewing Co.
18. Harpoon Brewery
19. Alaskan Brewing Co.
20. Great Lakes Brewing Co.
21. Abita Brewing Co.
22. Stevens Point Brewery
23. Odell Brewing Co.
24. Summit Brewing Co.
25. August Schell Brewing Co.
26. 21st Amendment Brewery
27. Troëgs Brewing Co.
28. Rhinegeist Brewery
29. Shipyard Brewing Co.
30. Allagash Brewing Co.
31. Long Trail Brewing Co.
32. Narragansett Brewing Co.
33. Flying Dog Brewery
34. Surly Brewing Company
35. Ninkasi Brewing Co.
36. Rogue Ales
37. Gordon Biersch Brewing Co.
38. Revolution Brewing
39. Three Floyds Brewing Co.
40. Karl Strauss Brewing Co.
41. Georgetown Brewing Co.
42. Uinta Brewing Co.
43. Wachusett Brewing Co.
44. Full Sail Brewing Co.
45. Modern Times Beer
46. North Coast Brewing Co.
47. Lost Coast Brewery
48. Saint Arnold Brewing Co.
49. Bear Republic Brewing Co.
50. Left Hand Brewing Company

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2 thoughts on “Georgetown Brewing breaks into the top 50

  1. I think it’s kind of sketchy to include collectives on this list. Duvel owns Ommegang, Boulevard and Firestone Walker. Gambrinus owns Shiner Bock, Trumer Pils and formerly Bridgeport (rip). Canarchy – Oskar Blues and others. Artisinal – Victory and Southern Tier. Would be cool to see a similar list of legitimate, singularly owned craft breweries or at least broken down into individual breweries.

    Doesn’t Washington provide a similar list referencing the number of barrels state breweries produce? Don’t think I’ve seen that one in a while.

  2. I agree. The way the Brewers Association defines “craft” makes these lists, uh, interesting.

    Yes, we will have that WA list probably within the next month. I think it usually hits the inbox in April.

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