Harry Schuhmacher’s Beer Business Daily earlier today published the results of their BeerNet Power 20. Essentially they polled his many beer business subscribers and asked them to vote for the most powerful people in the beer business. It’s the beer equivalent of Entertainment Weekly’s annual power issue. They cut off the voting last night at 5:00 p.m. and stayed up late counting ballots. It’s their first Power 20 poll since 2006, and quite a bit has changed since then. For those on the list in both 2006 and the new ranking, I’ve included their older ranking in parenthesis.

The BeerNet Power 20

1. Jim Koch, Boston Beer Co. (8)
2. Carlos Brito, Anheuser-Busch Inbev
3. Leo Kiely, MillerCoors
4. Reyes Brothers, Reyes Beverage Group (14)
5. Dave Peacock, Anheuser-Busch
6. Tom Long, MillerCoors (6)
7. Dick Yuengling, D.G. Yuengling & Co.
8. Graham McKay, SABMiller
9. Kim Jordan, New Belgium Brewing Co.
10. Bill Hackett, Crown Imports (3)
11. Pete Coors, Molson Coors
12. Craig Purser, National Beer Wholesalers Association (1)
13. Luiz Edmond, Anheuser-Busch
14. Dolf van den Brink, Heineken USA
15. Ken Grossman, Sierra Nevada
16. Sam Calagione, Dogfish Head
17. Dave Casinelli, D.G. Yuengling & Co. (19)
18. Warren Buffet, Berkshire Hathaway / McLane
19. Tom Cardella, MillerCoors (12)
20. Carlos Fernandez, Grupo Modelo
21. Andy England, MillerCoors

Here’s some observations from Harry about the makeup of this year’s list:

This is the first year that a Busch isn’t on the list. And this is the first year that a craft brewer has achieved the Power 20’s coveted Number 1 poll position: Jim Koch. In fact, in the last Power 20 four years ago, there were only two craft brewers on the list. This year, there are six. And a few Brazilian names have made the list for the first time, and a big investor who is only tangentially in the beer business, Warren Buffet, signaling that readers think he will be a bigger player.

The Top 3 in 2006 were 1) Craig Purser, National Beer Wholesalers Association, 2) August A. Busch IV, Anheuser-Busch Companies, and 3) Bill Hackett, Crown Imports. Curiously, Brewers Association president Charlie Papazian was ranked #13 in 2006, but isn’t on the current list.