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The Brewers Association, governing body of American craft beer, has announced the top 50 breweries of 2016 by volume. Many of the usual suspects are represented, as D.G. Yuengling, Boston Beer, Sierra Nevada, New Belgium and Gambrinus remain firmly entrenched in the top 5.
The biggest jump within the Top 10 was Duvel Moortgat USA shooting up nine spots to number six after its partnership with Firestone Walker Brewing Co., which joins Boulevard and Ommegang with the holding company. Oskar Blues also crept into the top 10, overtaking Brooklyn Brewery, Minhas Craft Brewers and others.
“With such a broad range of brewers in today’s beer landscape, the leading small and independent producers have helped build the craft brewing industry to what it is today,” said Bart Watson, chief economist of the Brewers Association in a press release. “Embracing their experience and ability to thrive and overcome challenges, the top producing craft brewers will continue to inspire, innovate and influence the future of beer.”
Here is the full release from the Brewers Association:
Boulder, CO • March 15, 2017—The Brewers Association (BA)—the not-for-profit trade group representing small and independent craft brewers—today released its annual lists of the top 50 craft and overall brewing companies in the U.S., based on beer sales volume. Of the top 50 overall brewing companies, 40 were craft brewing companies.1
“With such a broad range of brewers in today’s beer landscape, the leading small and independent producers have helped build the craft brewing industry to what it is today,” said Bart Watson, chief economist, Brewers Association. “Embracing their experience and ability to thrive and overcome challenges, the top producing craft brewers will continue to inspire, innovate and influence the future of beer.”
Rank |
Brewing Company |
City |
State |
---|---|---|---|
1 |
D. G. Yuengling & Son, Inc |
Pottsville |
PA |
2 |
Boston Beer Co |
Boston |
MA |
3 |
Sierra Nevada Brewing Co |
Chico |
CA |
4 |
New Belgium Brewing Co |
Fort Collins |
CO |
5 |
Gambrinus |
San Antonio |
TX |
6 |
Duvel Moortgat |
Paso Robles/Kansas City/Cooperstown |
CA/MO/NY |
7 |
Bell’s Brewery, Inc |
Comstock |
MI |
8 |
Deschutes Brewery |
Bend |
OR |
9 |
Stone Brewing Co |
Escondido |
CA |
10 |
Oskar Blues Brewing Holding Co |
Longmont |
CO |
11 |
Brooklyn Brewery |
Brooklyn |
NY |
12 |
Minhas Craft Brewery |
Monroe |
WI |
13 |
Artisanal Brewing Ventures |
Downington/Lakewood |
PA/NY |
14 |
Dogfish Head Craft Brewery |
Milton |
DE |
15 |
SweetWater Brewing Co |
Atlanta |
GA |
16 |
New Glarus Brewing Co |
New Glarus |
WI |
17 |
Matt Brewing Co |
Utica |
NY |
18 |
Harpoon Brewery |
Boston |
MA |
19 |
Alaskan Brewing |
Juneau |
AK |
20 |
Abita Brewing Co |
Abita Springs |
LA |
21 |
Great Lakes Brewing Co |
Cleveland |
OH |
22 |
Anchor Brewing Co |
San Francisco |
CA |
23 |
Stevens Point Brewery |
Stevens Point |
WI |
24 |
August Schell Brewing Co |
New Ulm |
MN |
24 |
Long Trail Brewing Co |
Bridgewater Corners |
VT |
26 |
Summit Brewing Co |
Saint Paul |
MN |
27 |
Odell Brewing Co |
Fort Collins |
CO |
28 |
Shipyard Brewing Co |
Portland |
ME |
29 |
Full Sail Brewing Co |
Hood River |
OR |
30 |
Rogue Ales |
Newport |
OR |
31 |
21st Amendment Brewery |
Bay Area |
CA |
32 |
Flying Dog Brewery |
Frederick |
MD |
33 |
Ninkasi Brewing Co |
Eugene |
OR |
34 |
Gordon Biersch Brewing Co |
San Jose |
CA |
35 |
Allagash Brewing Co |
Portland |
ME |
36 |
Narragansett Brewing Co |
Providence |
RI |
37 |
Green Flash Brewing Co |
San Diego |
CA |
38 |
Tröegs Brewing Co |
Hershey |
PA |
39 |
Uinta Brewing Co |
Salt Lake City |
UT |
40 |
Bear Republic Brewing Co |
Cloverdale |
CA |
41 |
Karl Strauss Brewing Co |
San Diego |
CA |
42 |
Surly Brewing Co |
Minneapolis |
MN |
43 |
Sixpoint Brewery |
Brooklyn |
NY |
44 |
Left Hand Brewing Co |
Longmont |
CO |
45 |
Lost Coast Brewery |
Eureka |
CA |
46 |
Revolution Brewing |
Chicago |
IL |
47 |
North Coast Brewing Co |
Fort Bragg |
CA |
48 |
Avery Brewing Co |
Boulder |
CO |
49 |
Real Ale Brewing Co |
Blanco |
TX |
50 |
BJ’s Brewery |
Huntington Beach |
CA |
Top 50 Overall Brewing Companies
Rank |
Brewing Company |
City |
State |
---|---|---|---|
1 |
Anheuser-Busch, Inc (a) |
Saint Louis |
MO |
2 |
MillerCoors (b) |
Chicago |
IL |
3 |
Pabst Brewing Co (c) |
Los Angeles |
CA |
4 |
D. G. Yuengling & Son, Inc |
Pottsville |
PA |
5 |
North American Breweries (d) |
Rochester |
NY |
6 |
Boston Beer Co (e) |
Boston |
MA |
7 |
Sierra Nevada Brewing Co |
Chico |
CA |
8 |
New Belgium Brewing Co |
Fort Collins |
CO |
9 |
Lagunitas Brewing Co (f) |
Petaluma |
CA |
10 |
Craft Brew Alliance (g) |
Portland |
OR |
11 |
Gambrinus (h) |
San Antonio |
TX |
12 |
Duvel Moortgat (i) |
Paso Robles/Kansas City/Cooperstown |
CA/MO/NY |
13 |
Ballast Point Brewing Co (j) |
San Diego |
CA |
14 |
Bell’s Brewery, Inc (k) |
Comstock |
MI |
15 |
Deschutes Brewery |
Bend |
OR |
16 |
Founders Brewing Co (l) |
Grand Rapids |
MI |
17 |
Stone Brewing Co |
Escondido |
CA |
18 |
Oskar Blues Brewing Holding Co (m) |
Longmont |
CO |
19 |
Sapporo USA (n) |
La Crosse |
WI |
20 |
Brooklyn Brewery |
Brooklyn |
NY |
21 |
Minhas Craft Brewery (o) |
Monroe |
WI |
22 |
Artisanal Brewing Ventures (p) |
Downington/Lakewood |
PA/NY |
23 |
Dogfish Head Craft Brewery |
Milton |
DE |
24 |
SweetWater Brewing Co |
Atlanta |
GA |
25 |
New Glarus Brewing Co |
New Glarus |
WI |
26 |
Matt Brewing Co (q) |
Utica |
NY |
27 |
Harpoon Brewery |
Boston |
MA |
28 |
Alaskan Brewing Co |
Juneau |
AK |
29 |
Abita Brewing Co |
Abita Springs |
LA |
30 |
Great Lakes Brewing Co |
Cleveland |
OH |
31 |
Anchor Brewing Co |
San Francisco |
CA |
32 |
Stevens Point Brewery (r) |
Stevens Point |
WI |
33 |
August Schell Brewing Co (s) |
New Ulm |
MN |
33 |
Long Trail Brewing Co (t) |
Bridgewater Corners |
VT |
35 |
Summit Brewing Co |
Saint Paul |
MN |
36 |
Odell Brewing Co |
Fort Collins |
CO |
37 |
Shipyard Brewing Co (u) |
Portland |
ME |
38 |
Full Sail Brewing Co |
Hood River |
OR |
39 |
Rogue Ales |
Newport |
OR |
40 |
21st Amendment Brewery |
Bay Area |
CA |
41 |
Flying Dog Brewery |
Frederick |
MD |
42 |
Ninkasi Brewing Co |
Eugene |
OR |
43 |
Gordon Biersch Brewing Co |
San Jose |
CA |
44 |
Allagash Brewing Co |
Portland |
ME |
45 |
Narragansett Brewing Co |
Providence |
RI |
46 |
Green Flash Brewing Co (v) |
San Diego |
CA |
47 |
Tröegs Brewing Co |
Hershey |
PA |
48 |
Uinta Brewing Co |
Salt Lake City |
UT |
49 |
Bear Republic Brewing Co |
Cloverdale |
CA |
50 |
Pittsburgh Brewing Co (w) |
Pittsburgh |
PA |
For a complete list of brands in the overall brewing category, please visit BrewersAssociation.org.
A comprehensive State of the Industry report will be delivered during the 2017 Craft Brewers Conference, held from April 10 -13, 2017 in Washington, D.C. The Association’s full 2016 industry analysis, which shows regional trends and sales by individual breweries, will be published in the May/June issue of The New Brewer, available in May 2017.
1 Figure based on companies that met craft brewer definition for all or part of 2016. An American craft brewer is small, independent and traditional. Small: Annual production of 6 million barrels of beer or less (approximately 3 percent of U.S. annual sales). Beer production is attributed to the rules of alternating proprietorships. Independent: Less than 25 percent of the craft brewery is owned or controlled (or equivalent economic interest) by an alcoholic beverage industry member that is not itself a craft brewer. Traditional: A brewer that has a majority of its total beverage alcohol volume in beers whose flavor derives from traditional or innovative brewing ingredients and their fermentation. Flavored malt beverages (FMBs) are not considered beers.