National News from the Brewers Association
Brewers Association Releases Top 50 Breweries List
Boulder, Colo. • April 7, 2008 – The Brewers Association, which tabulates industry growth data, announced its annual list of the top fifty brewing companies. Released are both a Top 50 Craft Brewing Companies¹ list and a list of the Top 50 Overall Brewing Companies. Statistics are based on sales in 2007.
“The majority of breweries in the U.S. are independent craft brewers who continue to push the envelope in flavor and diversity and who continue to set the pace for the beer category,” states Paul Gatza, Director of the Brewers Association. “In 2007, 1,406 of the 1,449 breweries were small, independent and traditional brewers.”
Twenty-one states are represented in the top 50 brewing companies list, according to the Brewers Association. California hosts eight top breweries. Colorado and Oregon each host five, and Pennsylvania hosts four top producers. The remainder of the top 50 operate from Minnesota (3), New York (3), Wisconsin (3), Illinois (2), Massachusetts (2), Missouri (2), Vermont (2), and Washington (2). Alaska, Delaware, Georgia, Hawaii, Louisiana, Maine, Michigan, Ohio, and Texas each host one.
The following are complete listings of the Top 50 Craft Brewing Companies and the Top 50 Overall Brewing companies.
Top 50 Craft Brewing Companies by Beer Sales Volume
(Based on 2007 sales)
Rank | Business Name | City | State |
1 | Boston Beer Co. | Boston | MA |
2 | Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. | Chico | CA |
3 | New Belgium Brewing Co. Inc. | Fort Collins | CO |
4 | Spoetzl Brewery | Shiner | TX |
5 | Pyramid Breweries Inc. | Seattle | WA |
6 | Matt Brewing Co. | Utica | NY |
7 | Deschutes Brewery, Inc. | Bend | OR |
8 | Boulevard Brewing Co. | Kansas City | MO |
9 | Full Sail Brewing Co. | Hood River | OR |
10 | Harpoon Brewery | Boston | MA |
11 | Alaskan Brewing and Bottling Co. | Juneau | AK |
12 | Magic Hat Brewing Co. & Performing Arts Center | South Burlington | VT |
13 | Anchor Brewing Co. | San Francisco | CA |
14 | Bell’s Brewery, Inc. | Galesburg | MI |
15 | Shipyard Brewing Co. | Portland | ME |
16 | Summit Brewing Co. | St. Paul | MN |
17 | Abita Brewing Co. | Abita Springs | LA |
18 | Gordon Biersch Brewing Co. | San Jose | CA |
19 | Brooklyn Brewery | Brooklyn | NY |
20 | Stone Brewing Co. | Escondido | CA |
21 | Rogue Ales/Oregon Brewing | Newport | OR |
22 | Long Trail Brewing Co. | Bridgewater Corners | VT |
23 | New Glarus Brewing Co. | New Glarus | WI |
24 | Kona Brewing Co. | Kailua-Kona | HI |
25 | Dogfish Head Craft Brewery | Milton | DE |
26 | Firestone Walker Brewing Co. | Paso Robles | CA |
27 | Great Lakes Brewing Co./Ohio | Cleveland | OH |
28 | The Lagunitas Brewing Co. | Petaluma | CA |
29 | Flying Dog Brewery | Denver | CO |
30 | Sweetwater Brewing Co. | Atlanta | GA |
31 | Bridgeport Brewing Co. | Portland | OR |
32 | Rock Bottom Brewery Restaurants | Louisville | CO |
33 | Odell Brewing Co. | Fort Collins | CO |
34 | BJ’s Restaurant & Brewery | Huntington Beach | CA |
35 | Victory Brewing Co. | Downingtown | PA |
36 | Mac and Jack’s Brewery | Redmond | WA |
37 | Lost Coast Brewery and Café | Eureka | CA |
38 | Big Sky Brewing Co. | Missoula | MT |
39 | Pete’s Brewing Co. | San Antonio | TX |
40 | Otter Creek Brewing Co. | Middlebury | VT |
41 | Karl Strauss Breweries | San Diego | CA |
42 | Breckenridge Brewery | Denver | CO |
43 | Gordon Biersch Brewery Restaurant | Chattanooga | TN |
44 | Anderson Valley Brewing Co. | Boonville | CA |
45 | Boulder Beer Co. | Boulder | CO |
46 | North Coast Brewing Co. Inc. | Fort Bragg | CA |
47 | McMenamins | Portland | OR |
48 | Utah Brewers Cooperative | Salt Lake City | UT |
49 | Capital Brewing Co. | Middleton | WI |
50 | Blue Point Brewing Co. | Patchogue | NY |
Top 50 Overall Brewing Companies by Beer Sales Volume
(2007 sales)
Rank | Business Name | City | State |
1 | Anheuser-Busch Inc. | St. Louis | MO |
2 | Miller Brewing Co. | Milwaukee | WI |
3 | Coors Brewing Co. | Golden | CO |
4 | Pabst Brewing Co. | Woodridge | IL |
5 | Boston Beer Co. | Boston | MA |
6 | D.G. Yuengling and Son Inc. | Pottsville | PA |
7 | Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. | Chico | CA |
8 | New Belgium Brewing Co. Inc. | Fort Collins | CO |
9 | High Falls Brewing Co. | Rochester | NY |
10 | Spoetzl Brewery | Shiner | TX |
11 | Widmer Brothers Brewing Co. | Portland | OR |
12 | Redhook Ale Brewery | Woodinville | WA |
13 | Pyramid Breweries Inc. | Seattle | WA |
14 | Matt Brewing Co. | Utica | NY |
15 | Minhas Craft Brewery | Monroe | WI |
16 | Deschutes Brewery, Inc. | Bend | OR |
17 | Iron City Brewing Co. | Pittsburgh | PA |
18 | Boulevard Brewing Co. | Kansas City | MO |
19 | Full Sail Brewing Co. | Hood River | OR |
20 | Harpoon Brewery | Boston | MA |
21 | Alaskan Brewing and Bottling Co. | Juneau | AK |
22 | Magic Hat Brewing Co. & Performing Arts Center | South Burlington | VT |
23 | Anchor Brewing Co. | San Francisco | CA |
24 | Bell’s Brewery, Inc. | Galesburg | MI |
25 | Goose Island Beer Co. | Chicago | IL |
26 | August Schell Brewing Co. | New Ulm | MN |
27 | Shipyard Brewing Co. | Portland | ME |
28 | Summit Brewing Co. | St. Paul | MN |
29 | Mendocino Brewing Co. | Ukiah | CA |
30 | Abita Brewing Co. | Abita Springs | LA |
31 | Gordon Biersch Brewing Co. | San Jose | CA |
32 | Brooklyn Brewery | Brooklyn | NY |
33 | Stone Brewing Co. | Escondido | CA |
34 | Rogue Ales / Oregon Brewing | Newport | OR |
35 | Long Trail Brewing Co. | Bridgewater Corners | VT |
36 | New Glarus Brewing Co. | New Glarus | WI |
37 | Kona Brewing Co. | Kailua-Kona | HI |
38 | Dogfish Head Craft Brewery | Milton | DE |
39 | Firestone Walker Brewing Co. | Paso Robles | CA |
40 | Great Lakes Brewing Co./Ohio | Cleveland | OH |
41 | The Lagunitas Brewing Co. | Petaluma | CA |
42 | Flying Dog Brewery | Denver | CO |
43 | Sweetwater Brewing Co. | Atlanta | GA |
44 | Bridgeport Brewing Co. | Portland | OR |
45 | Rock Bottom Brewery Restaurants | Louisville | CO |
46 | Gluek Brewing Co. | Cold Spring | MN |
47 | Straub Brewery | St. Mary’s | PA |
48 | Odell Brewing Co. | Fort Collins | CO |
49 | BJ’s Restaurant & Brewery | Huntington Beach | CA |
50 | Victory Brewing Co. | Downingtown | PA |
For more statistics visit the updated 2007 Craft Beer Industry Statistics Web page. A more extensive analysis of statistics on the craft beer segment in 2007 will be released April 17 during the Craft Brewers Conference in San Diego, California. The Association’s full 2007 industry analysis, which shows regional trends and sales by individual breweries, is published in the May/June issue of The New Brewer.
¹ 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 brewers 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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Based in Boulder, Colorado, USA, the Brewers Association (BA) is the not-for-profit trade and education association for American craft brewers and community of beer enthusiasts.
Individual Press releases/stories
Odell, New Belgium on national brewery list
By CARI MERRILL
New Belgium Brewing Co. Inc. and Odell Brewing Co. made the cut of top 50 craft brewing companies based on sales volume as well as the top 50 list of overall brewing companies, a category that pits them against big names Anheuser-Busch Inc., Miller Brewing Co. and Coors Brewing Co.
Odell came in 33 on the top 50 list of craft brewing companies based on sales volume, a two position drop from last year, but Odell CEO John Bryant isn’t concerned.
“There’s a danger in measuring your success in pure volume,†Bryant said Monday afternoon, comparing Odell’s stance on craft beer to that of Hershey’s chocolate against fine chocolates.
Instead Odell’s focus is on developing unique beer blends, such as a special label beer its currently working on. “We’re developing niches, and we’re trying to do things others aren’t doing.â€
Wisconsin News
New Glarus Brewing Co. and Capital Brewing Co., Wisconsin’s biggest-selling craft brewers, slipped in the most recent list of the largest craft brewers released Monday by the Brewers Association.
Based on sales in 2007, New Glarus Brewing, of New Glarus, ranked 23rd, down from 21st in 2006, while Capital Brewing, of Middleton, ranked 49th, down from 45th the year before. The Brewers Association report — which defines craft brewers as independent, traditional brewers that ship fewer than 2 million barrels a year — does not report dollar figures.
Boston Beer Co., of Boston, ranked as the largest craft brewer and was rated as the fifth-largest brewer in the nation overall, trailing St. Louis-based Anheuser-Busch Cos., Milwaukee’s Miller Brewing Co., Coors Brewing Co. of Golden, Colo., and Woodridge, Ill.-based Pabst Brewing.
Minhas Craft Brewery of Monroe, the former Joseph Huber Brewing Co., ranked as the 15th-largest brewer based on 2007 sales. New Glarus ranked 36th overall.
Craft beer sales in the United States grew 12 percent in 2007 to more than 8 million barrels, compared with 7.1 million in 2006. Dollar sales increased 16 percent to more than $5.74 billion, compared with $4.95 billion the year before, according to Brewers Association data.
“The majority of breweries in the U.S. are independent craft brewers who continue to push the envelope in flavor and diversity and who continue to set the pace for the beer category,” states Paul Gatza, director of the Brewers Association in Boulder, Colo. “In 2007, 1,406 of the 1,449 breweries were small, independent and traditional brewers.”
Lost Coast makes list of top 50 independent brewers
The Times-Standard
The Brewers Association, a group that tabulates industry growth data, announced its annual list of the top 50 craft beer brewing companies in the country based on sales, and Eureka’s Lost Coast Brewery made the list for the first time, coming in at No. 37.
Of the 1,449 breweries in the U.S., 1,406 are craft brewers, meaning they’re small, independent and traditional, said Brewers Association Director Paul Gatza.
â€The last four years have been really big growth for us — about 20 percent every year,†said Lost Coast owner Barbara Groom. She credited much of that growth to the success of their award-winning Great White beer.
Chico-based Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. came in at No. 2 on the list, behind Boston Beer Co. Lost Coast beers are distributed throughout the west coast, as well as in Florida, North Carolina, New York and Wisconsin.
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