Brewers Association Releases Top 50 Brewers List

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)

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)

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. Visit the Web site, http://www.maildogmanager.com/link.html?url=6&client=aobhtml&campaign=1688&email=thebeerphilosopher@yahoo.com, to learn more. The association’s activities include events and publishing: World Beer Cup®; Great American Beer Festivalsm; Craft Brewers Conference and BrewExpo America®; National Homebrewers Conference; National Homebrew Competition; American Craft Beer Week; Zymurgy magazine; The New Brewer magazine; and books on beer and brewing. The Brewers Association has an additional membership division of 15,000+ homebrewers: American Homebrewers Association.