According to new estimated beer sales data for 2011 from Beer Marketer’s Insights, Yuengling Brewery in Pottsville, Pennsylvania has now eclipsed the Boston Beer Co. (makers of Samuel Adams) to become the biggest American brewery. Yuengling’s area newspaper, the Lehigh Valley’s The Morning Call, had the story this morning. The numbers shake out like this:
Yuengling sold 2.5 million barrels of beer in 2011, up 17 percent from the previous year, according to Beer Marketer’s Insights in Suffern, N.Y., a magazine that tracks the beer industry. Boston Beer sold 2.4 million barrels in 2011, the magazine estimated.
Boston Beer, a public company, has yet to release final sales for 2011. Beer Marketer’s Insights based its estimate on Boston Beer sales in the first three quarters and the company’s own sales forecast for the fourth quarter.
Even if Boston Beer had a surprisingly good fourth quarter, it wouldn’t close the gap with Yuengling, said Eric Shepard, editor of Beer Marketer’s Insights.
The Morning Call also created the chart below to illustrate the shift in sales between the two companies over the last five years.
This is a pretty cool piece or artwork that would look great on your wall. Los Angeles-based artist David Odere has created a poster entitled There Are 1,952 Craft Breweries In The United States, in which the glass of beer, head included, contains the names of every one of those 1,952 breweries. The poster is below, but to really get a flavor for it, look at in his website, Factry, where you can zoom in on it to read all of the brewery names. Last time I’d checked, the number was in the high 1800s, but I guess we’ve gone way past 1900 since then. Can hitting 2,000 breweries be very far away at this point? See if you can find your own or the ones in your area. For $20 (plus shipping) you can also but an 18″ x 24″ poster of it.
And if you love bacon, be sure to check out his other poster, Everything Goes Good with Bacon.
A Harris Poll conducted in March of this year concluded that Three in Ten Americans Drink Alcohol at Least Once a Week. The poll, conducted by Harris Interactive, surveyed 2,379 adults between March 7 and 14, 2011. Not surprisingly, beer continues to be the most popular alcoholic beverage, followed by American wine and vodka. And men still drink beer more than women “75% vs. 50%.”
Here are some other findings from the poll:
Question 1: “How often do you drink alcohol, including beer or wine?”
Question 2: “How often do you drink alcohol, including beer or wine?”
Question 3: “Which alcoholic beverages do you personally drink either at home or away from home? If you have mixed drinks, such as sours or martinis, please indicate the type of liquor they contain.”
Question 4: “Although you may drink several types of alcoholic beverages, which one type would you say you drink most often?”
Naturally, I have a couple of quibbles:
- Why did they separate out domestic and foreign wine, but not domestic and foreign beer?
- “It’s probably not surprising that men and women have different drinking preferences.” Maybe, but isn’t this something of a self-perpetuating prophecy? I know plenty of women who love beer and find wine too sweet. I also know women who claim to find beer too bitter but drink their weight in coffee. I can’t help but wonder if we keep reinforcing this by asking the question, and people respond with the answer they think is the case, which ends up making it real when maybe it’s not.
- “According to many doctors and medical studies, a glass of wine is good for one’s health. And even beyond wine, a drink, as long as it’s in moderation, is something that people shouldn’t be afraid of having.” Goddammit, why does this one persist, that “wine” is good for you but the rest are not? By omission, the statement implies that beer and other alcohol is not “good for one’s health” or at a minimum not “as” good which infuriates me. And adding the qualifying statement that “beyond wine” it’s okay to drink the other alcoholic drinks “as long as it’s in moderation” likewise implies that it’s healthful to drink as much wine as you like. How can they be so detail-oriented about the statistics involved in polling, and so ignorant in their statements of analysis? Sheesh.
This is my fifth annual annotated list of the Top 50 so you can see who moved up and down, who was new to the list and who dropped off. So here is this year’s list again annotated with how they changed compared to last year.
- Anheuser-Busch InBev; #1 last five years, no surprises
- MillerCoors; ditto for #2
- Pabst Brewing; ditto for #3
- D. G. Yuengling and Son; Same as last year
- Boston Beer Co.; Same as last year
- Sierra Nevada Brewing; Same as last year
- New Belgium Brewing; Same as last year
- North American Breweries; new entity
- Craft Brewers Alliance; Moved down 1 for 2nd straight year
- Spoetzl Brewery (Gambrinus); Moved down 1
- Deschutes Brewery; Up 2
- Independent Brewers United (IBU); Same as last year, with a new name
- F.X. Matt Brewing; Moved down 1, after moving up 1 last year
- Minhas Craft Brewery; Down 2 over last year
- Bell’s Brewery; Up 4 from #19 last year
- Harpoon Brewery; Up 1 from #17 last year
- Boulevard Brewing; Down 1 from #16 last year
- Goose Island Beer; Up 2, for 2nd straight year, from #20 last year
- Dogfish Head Craft Brewery; Shot up 5 from #24, after being up 9, 5 and 4 the three previous years
- Alaskan Brewing; Down 2 from #18 last year
- Long Trail Brewing; Leapt up 14 from #35 last year
- August Schell Brewing; Up 4 from last year
- Stone Brewing; Same as last year, though they were up 5 each of last two years
- Abita Brewing; Up 4 from #28 last year
- Brooklyn Brewery; Up 2 from #27 last year
- Lagunitas Brewing; Jumped up 10 from #36 last year
- Full Sail Brewing; Down 5 for the 2nd straight year
- Shipyard Brewing; Down 3 from #31 last year
- Summit Brewing; Same as last year
- New Glarus Brewing; Up 2 from #32 last year
- Great Lakes Brewing; Up 2 from #31 last year
- Anchor Brewing; Down 2 from #30
- Iron City Brewing; Down 8, after dropping 12 last year, after a Chapter 11 bankruptcy and moving production out of Pittsburgh
- Kona Brewing; Fell 13 after being up 2 last year, and 14 the previous year
- Rogue Ales/Oregon Brewing; Down 1, after being up 2 last year, canceling being down 2 the previous year, and up 2 the year before that, essentially hovering
- Firestone Walker Brewing; Up 4 from #40 last year
- Winery Exchange Inc. / World Brew; Novato CA; new to the list this year
- Sweetwater Brewing; Up 1 from #39 last year
- Mendocino Brewing; Down 2 from #7 last year, after falling 8 the previous year
- Flying Dog Brewery; Up 2 from #42 last year
- Victory Brewing; Same as last year
- Gordon Biersch Brewing; Down 4 from #38 last year
- BJs Restaurant & Brewery; Down 1 from #43 last year
- Stevens Point Brewery; Up 6 from #50 last year
- Odell Brewing; Down 1 from #44 last year
- BridgePort Brewing (Gambrinus); Up 1 from #47 last year
- Cold Spring Brewing; Not in Top 50 last year
- Rock Bottom Brewery Restaurants; Down 3 from #45 last year
- Oskar Blues Brewing; Not in Top 50 last year
- Straub Brewery; Down 3 from #46 last year
Some new companies made the list, two from mergers — North American Breweries and Independent Brewers United — along with Winery Exchange Inc. as a result of doing a contract private label beer for the Walgreen’s pharmacy chain, Big Flats.
Two breweries are new to the list this year, Oskar Blues and Cold Spring Brewing again, who fell off last year but had been on the list the year before that under their former name, Gluek Brewing. Two more are off the list, Big Sky Brewing and Lost Coast Brewing, who had just cracked the list last year.
If you want to see the previous annotated lists for comparison, here is 2009, 2008, 2007 and 2006.
The Brewers Association has also just announced the top 50 breweries in the U.S. based on sales, by volume, for 2010. This includes all breweries, regardless of size or other parameters. Here is the new list:
- Anheuser-Busch InBev; St Louis MO
- MillerCoors; Chicago IL
- Pabst Brewing; Woodridge IL
- D. G. Yuengling and Son; Pottsville PA
- Boston Beer Co.; Boston MA
- Sierra Nevada Brewing; Chico CA
- New Belgium Brewing; Fort Collins CO
- North American Breweries; Rochester, NY
- Craft Brewers Alliance, Inc.; Portland, OR
- Spoetzl Brewery (Gambrinus); Spoetzl TX
- Deschutes Brewery; Bend OR
- Independent Brewers United (IBU); Burlington, VT
- F.X. Matt Brewing; Utica NY
- Minhas Craft Brewery; Monroe WI
- Bell’s Brewery; Galesburg MI
- Harpoon Brewery; Boston, MA
- Boulevard Brewing; Kansas City MO
- Goose Island Beer; Chicago IL
- Dogfish Head Craft Brewery; Lewes DE
- Alaskan Brewing; Juneau AK
- Long Trail Brewing; Burlington VT
- August Schell Brewing; New Ulm MN
- Stone Brewing; Escondido CA
- Abita Brewing; New Orleans LA
- Brooklyn Brewery; Brooklyn NY
- Lagunitas Brewing; Petaluma CA
- Full Sail Brewing; Hood River OR
- Shipyard Brewing; Portland ME
- Summit Brewing; Saint Paul MN
- New Glarus Brewing; New Glarus WI
- Great Lakes Brewing; Cleveland OH
- Anchor Brewing; San Francisco CA
- Iron City Brewing; Pittsburgh PA
- Kona Brewing; Kailua-Kona HI
- Rogue Ales/Oregon Brewing; Newport OR
- Firestone Walker Brewing; Paso Robles CA
- Winery Exchange Inc. / World Brew; Novato CA
- SweetWater Brewing; Atlanta GA
- Mendocino Brewing; Ukiah CA
- Flying Dog Brewery; Frederick MD
- Victory Brewing; Downington PA
- Gordon Biersch Brewing; San Jose CA
- BJs Restaurant & Brewery; Huntington Beach CA
- Stevens Point Brewery; Stevens Point WI
- Odell Brewing; Fort Collins CO
- Bridgeport Brewing (Gambrinus); Portland OR
- Cold Spring Brewing; Cold Spring MN
- Rock Bottom Brewery Restaurants; Louisville CO
- Oskar Blues Brewery; Longmont CO
- Straub Brewery; Saint Mary’s PA
Here is this year’s press release.
The Brewers Association just announced the top 50 breweries in the U.S. based on sales, by volume, for 2010, which is listed below here. For the fourth year, they’ve also released a list of the top 50 craft breweries based on the new definition adopted by the Brewers Association a few years ago, and updated earlier this year. Here is the new craft brewery list:
- Boston Beer Co.; Boston MA
- Sierra Nevada Brewing; Chico CA
- New Belgium Brewing; Fort Collins CO
- Spoetzl Brewery (Gambrinus); Spoetzl TX
- Deschutes Brewery; Bend OR
- Independent Brewers United (IBU); Burlington, VT
- Matt Brewing; Utica NY
- Bell’s Brewery; Galesburg MI
- Harpoon Brewery; Boston, MA
- Boulevard Brewing; Kansas City MO
- Dogfish Head Craft Brewery; Lewes DE
- Alaskan Brewing; Juneau AK
- Long Trail Brewing; Bridgewater Corners VT
- Stone Brewing; Escondido CA
- Abita Brewing; New Orleans LA
- Brooklyn Brewery; Brooklyn NY
- Lagunitas Brewing; Petaluma CA
- Full Sail Brewing; Hood River OR
- Shipyard Brewing; Portland ME
- Summit Brewing; Saint Paul MN
- New Glarus Brewing; New Glarus WI
- Great Lakes Brewing; Cleveland OH
- Anchor Brewing; San Francisco CA
- Kona Brewing; Kailua-Kona HI
- Rogue Ales/Oregon Brewing; Newport OR
- Firestone Walker Brewing; Paso Robles CA
- Sweetwater Brewing; Atlanta GA
- Flying Dog Brewery; Frederick MD
- Victory Brewing; Downingtown PA
- Gordon Biersch Brewing; San Jose CA
- BJs Restaurant & Brewery; Huntington Beach CA
- Stevens Point Brewing; Stevens Point WI
- Odell Brewing; Fort Collins CO
- Bridgeport Brewing (Gambrinus); Portland OR
- Rock Bottom Brewery Restaurants; Louisville CO
- Oskar Blues Brewery; Longmont CO
- Blue Point Brewing; Patchogue NY
- Lost Coast Brewery; Eureka CA
- Big Sky Brewing; Missoula MT
- North Coast Brewing; Fort Bragg CA
- Mac and Jack’s Brewery; Redmond WA
- The Saint Louis Brewery; St Louis MO
- Bear Republic Brewing; Cloverdale CA
- Karl Strauss Breweries; San Diego CA
- Breckenridge Brewery; Denver CO
- Utah Brewers Cooperative; Salt Lake City UT
- Gordon Biersch Brewery Restaurants; Chattanooga TN
- Saint Arnold Brewing; Houston TX
- Real Ale Brewing; Blanco, TX
- Ninkasi Brewing; Eugene, OR
Two breweries are new to the Top 50 Craft Breweries list; Real Ale Brewing and Ninkasi. Here is this year’s press release.
I’ll have my annual annotated list shortly.
