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.

###
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.”

Link to article.

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.”

Link to article.

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.

”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.

Link to article.

 

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