Last year I did an annotated list of the Top 50 so I could see who moved up and down, who was new to the list and who dropped off. Four breweries dropped off the list and there are three new ones who weren’t on last year’s list. The reason that math doesn’t work out is because last year the combined breweries of Gambrinus were listed together but this year they were separated again, with two of them making the top fifty. So here is this year’s list again annotated with how they changed compared to last year.
- Anheuser-Busch; #1 last year, no surprises
- Miller Brewing; ditto for #2
- Coors Brewing; And #3, too
- Pabst Brewing; And #4, too
- Boston Beer Co.; Second year at #5, having moved up 2 spots the previous year
- D. G. Yuengling and Son; Same as last year
- Sierra Nevada Brewing; Same as last year
- New Belgium Brewing; Up 1 spot from #9 last year
- High Falls Brewing; Up 1 spot from #10 last year
- Spoetzl Brewery; Split off from Gambrinus, which last year was #8
- Widmer Brothers Brewing; Same as last year, after shooting up 6 spots the previous year
- Redhook Ale Brewery; Same as last year
- Pyramid Breweries; Up 1 spot from #14 last year, having moved up 6 spots the previous year
- Matt Brewing; Up 2 spots from #16 last year
- Minhas Craft Brewery; Same as last year
- Deschutes Brewery; Up 1 from #17 last year
- Iron City Brewing (fka Pittsburgh Brewing); Down 4 from two years at #13, just coming out of bankruptcy
- Boulevard Brewing; Same as last year
- Full Sail Brewing; Up 2 from #21 last year
- Harpoon Brewery; Same as last year
- Alaskan Brewing; Down from #19 last year
- Magic Hat Brewing; Up 2 from #24
- Anchor Brewing; Down 1 from #22
- Bell’s Brewery; Up 2 from #26 last year, after moving up 9 the previous year
- Goose Island Beer; Up 6 from #31, the second year in a row they’ve moved up 6
- August Schell Brewing; Up 2 from #28
- Shipyard Brewing; Up 2 from #29
- Summit Brewing; Down 1 from #27
- Mendocino Brewing; Up 1 from #30
- Abita Brewing; Up 2 from #32
- Gordon Biersch Brewing; Down 6 from #25
- Brooklyn Brewery; Up 2 from #34
- Stone Brewing; Up 4 from #37, after moving up 11 the previous year
- Rogue Ales; Up 2 from #36
- Long Trail Brewing; Down 2 from #33
- New Glarus Brewing; Down 1 from #35, after jumping 10 spots the previous years
- Kona Brewing; Down 14 from #23
- Dogfish Head Craft Brewery; Up 4 from #42
- Firestone Walker Brewing; Up 1 from #40, after rising 7 the previous year
- Great Lakes Brewing; Up 1 from #41
- Lagunitas Brewing; Up 3 from #44
- Flying Dog Brewery; Up 3 from #45
- Sweetwater Brewing; Up 3 from #46
- BridgePort Brewing; Split off from Gambrinus, which last year was #8
- Rock Bottom Brewery Restaurants; Down 6 from #39
- Gluek Brewing (now known as Cold Spring Brewery); Not in the Top 50 last year
- Straub Brewery; Down 4 from #43
- Odell Brewing; Down 1 from #47
- BJs Restaurant & Brewery; Not in the Top 50 last year
- Victory Brewing; Not in the Top 50 last year
The following breweries dropped off the list, meaning they were on the 2006 list but are not on the 2007 list of the Top 50 breweries.
- Stevens Point Brewery
- Mac and Jack’s Brewery
- Big Sky Brewing
- Otter Creek Brewing
- Gambrinus; Last year the combined totals of their breweries, Spoetzl Brewery, BridgePort Brewing, Pete’s Wicked, and Trumer Brauerei were #8; this year they were considered separately