The Brewers Association of Boulder, Colorado, released today a list of the country’s top fifty brewers based upon 2005 sales. Seven of the fifty are California brewers, with five from Oregon and two from Washington. Only seventeen of the fifty states include a top fifty brewery.

1. Anheuser-Busch Inc., St Louis, Missouri
2. Miller Brewing Co., Milwaukee, Wisconsin
3. Coors Brewing Co., Golden, Colorado
4. Pabst Brewing Co., San Antonio, Texas
5. City Brewing Co., LaCrosse, Wisconsin
6. D. G. Yuengling & Son Inc., Pottsville, Pennsylvania
7. Boston Beer Co., Boston, Massachusetts
8. Steel Brewing Co., Milwaukee, Wisconsin
9. High Falls Brewing Co., Rochester, New York
10. Latrobe Brewing Co., Latrobe, Pennsylvania
11. Sierra Nevada Brewing Co., Chico, California
12. New Belgium Brewing Co., Fort Collins, Colorado
13. Pittsburgh Brewing Co., Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
14. Jacob Leinenkugel Brewing Co., Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin (owned by Miller)
15. Spoetzl Brewery, Shiner, Texas (owned by Gambrinus)
16. Matt Brewing Co., Utica, New York
17. Widmer Brothers Brewing Co., Portland, Oregon
18. Redhook Ale Brewery, Woodinville, Washington
19. Lion Brewery, Inc. , Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania
20. Pyramid Alehouse/Breweries Inc., Seattle, Washington
21. Deschutes Brewery, Bend, Oregon
22. Alaskan Brewing and Bottling Co., Juneau, Alaska
23. Boulevard Brewing Co., Kansas City, Missouri
24. Harpoon Brewery, Boston, Massachusetts
25. Carolina Beer and Beverage Co., Mooresville, North Carolina
26. Full Sail Brewing Co., Hood River, Oregon
27. Anchor Brewing Co., San Francisco, California
28. Gluek Brewing Co., Cold Springs, Minnesota
29. Gordon Biersch Brewing Co., San Jose, California
30. August Schell Brewing Co., New Ulm, Minnesota
31. Mendocino Brewing Co., Ukiah, California (owned by UB Group)
32. Summit Brewing Co., St Paul, Minnesota
33. Magic Hat Brewing Co., South Burlington, Vermont
34. Shipyard Brewing Co., Portland, Maine (owned by Harpoon)
35. Bell’s Brewery Inc. Galesburg, Michigan
36. Long Trail Brewing Co., Bridgewater Corners, Vermont
37. Goose Island Beer Co., Chicago, Illinois
38. Brooklyn Brewery, Brooklyn, New York
39. Abita Brewing Co., Abita Springs, Louisiana
40. Stevens Point Brewery Co., Stevens Point, Wisconsin
41. BridgePort Brewing Co., Portland, Oregon (owned by Gambrinus)
42. Rogue Ales, Newport, Oregon
43. Rock Bottom Restaurants Inc., Louisville, Colorado
44. Pete’s Brewing Co., San Antonio, Texas (owned by Gambrinus)
45. New Glarus Brewing Co., New Glarus, Wisconsin
46. Joseph Huber Brewing Co., Monroe, Wisconsin
47. Firestone Walker Brewing Co., Paso Robles, California
48. Stone Brewing Co., San Marcos, California
49. Flying Dog Brewery, Denver, Colorado
50. Lagunitas Brewing Co., Petaluma, California

From the press release:

“Craft brewers deliver the flavors that beer drinkers increasingly desire,” said Paul Gatza, Director of the Brewers Association. “As a result more than 30 of the top 50 US brewers are craft brewers.”

Overall, the beers brewed by top 50 producers include well-known brands from Budweiser, Miller and Coors as well as nationally distributed craft beers like Boston Beer Company‚s Samuel Adams Boston Lager and Sierra Nevada’s Pale Ale. Examples of other craft brands from top 50 brewers include Anchor Steam, Deschutes Black Butte Porter, Boulevard Pale Ale and Brooklyn Lager. The top-50 also includes Rock Bottom Restaurants Inc. which operates more than 30 brewpubs around the country.

“More than 1400 breweries operate in the US today, said Ray Daniels, Director of Craft Beer Marketing for the Brewers Association, “when you look at the top 4 percent of all brewers ‘our top 50 list’ craft brewers constitute the majority.”

More than half of the top 50 brewers can be found in just five states now, according to the Brewers Association. California and Wisconsin each host seven top breweries while Oregon has five and Colorado and Pennsylvania each host four top producers for a total of 27 in these five states.

The remainder of the top 50 operate from Minnesota (3), New York (3), Texas (3), Massachusetts (2), Missouri (2), Vermont (2), Washington (2), Alaska (1), Illinois (1), Louisiana (1), Michigan (1), Maine (1) and North Carolina (1). Complete listings of the top-50 are included below by rank and by state.

The craft beer segment includes more than 1300 breweries who produce an all-malt flagship beer. It includes brewpubs (brewery/restaurant), microbreweries (less than 15,000 barrels per year) and regional craft brewers (15,000 to 2 million barrels per year). The Brewers Association has tabulated industry growth data for these breweries annually since 1985.

Top 10 craft brewers in the United States include Boston Beer Co (MA), Sierra Nevada Brewing Co (CA), New Belgium Brewing Co (CO), Jacob Leinenkugel Brewing Co (WI), F.X. Matt Brewing Co. (NY), Widmer Brothers Brewing Co (OR), Redhook Ale Brewery (WA), Pyramid Alehouse/Breweries Inc. (WA), Deschutes Brewery (OR), and Alaskan Brewing and Bottling Co (AK).