The Brewers Association just announced the top 50 breweries and craft breweries in the U.S. based on sales, by volume, for 2017, which is listed below here. I should also mention that this represents “craft breweries” according to the BA’s membership definition, and not necessarily how most of us would define them, as there’s no universally agreed upon way to differentiate the two. For the tenth year, they’ve also released a list of the top 50 breweries, which includes all breweries. In the past I’ve posted the two lists separately, but have decided going forward to present them together since the two are getting increasingly intermingled. Here is this year’s craft brewery list:
Top 50 Craft Brewing Companies
| Rank | Brewery Name | City | State |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | D. G. Yuengling & Son, Inc | Pottsville | PA |
| 2 | Boston Beer Co | Boston | MA |
| 3 | Sierra Nevada Brewing | Chico | CA |
| 4 | New Belgium Brewing | Fort Collins | CO |
| 5 | Duvel Moortgat | Paso Robles/Kansas City/Cooperstown | CA/MO/NY |
| 6 | Gambrinus | San Antonio/Berkeley/Portland | TX/CA/OR |
| 7 | Bell’s Brewery, Inc | Comstock | MI |
| 8 | Stone Brewing | Escondido | CA |
| 9 | CANarchy | Longmont/Tampa/Salt Lake City/ Comstock Park |
CO/FL/UT/MI |
| 10 | Deschutes Brewery | Bend | OR |
| 11 | Brooklyn Brewery | Brooklyn | NY |
| 12 | Dogfish Head Craft Brewery | Milton | DE |
| 13 | Minhas Craft Brewery | Monroe | WI |
| 14 | Artisanal Brewing Ventures | Downingtown/Lakewood | PA/NY |
| 15 | SweetWater Brewing | Atlanta | GA |
| 16 | New Glarus Brewing | New Glarus | WI |
| 17 | Matt Brewing | Utica | NY |
| 18 | Harpoon Brewery | Boston | MA |
| 19 | Alaskan Brewing | Juneau | AK |
| 20 | Great Lakes Brewing | Cleveland | OH |
| 21 | Abita Brewing | Abita Springs | LA |
| 22 | Odell Brewing | Fort Collins | CO |
| 23 | Stevens Point Brewery | Stevens Point | WI |
| 24 | August Schell Brewing | New Ulm | MN |
| 25 | Summit Brewing | Saint Paul | MN |
| 26 | 21st Amendment Brewery | Bay Area | CA |
| 27 | Shipyard Brewing | Portland | ME |
| 28 | Flying Dog Brewery | Frederick | MD |
| 29 | Full Sail Brewing | Hood River | OR |
| 30 | Troëgs Brewing | Hershey | PA |
| 31 | Long Trail Brewing | Bridgewater Corners | VT |
| 32 | Rogue Ales | Newport | OR |
| 33 | Rhinegeist Brewery | Cincinnati | OH |
| 34 | Narragansett Brewing | Providence | RI |
| 35 | Gordon Biersch Brewing | San Jose | CA |
| 36 | Allagash Brewing | Portland | ME |
| 37 | Uinta Brewing | Salt Lake City | UT |
| 38 | Ninkasi Brewing | Eugene | OR |
| 39 | Surly Brewing | Minneapolis | MN |
| 40 | Revolution Brewing | Chicago | IL |
| 41 | Karl Strauss Brewing | San Diego | CA |
| 42 | Bear Republic Brewing | Cloverdale | CA |
| 43 | Green Flash Brewing | San Diego | CA |
| 44 | Left Hand Brewing | Longmont | CO |
| 45 | Three Floyds Brewing | Munster | IN |
| 46 | Saint Arnold Brewing | Houston | TX |
| 47 | Lost Coast Brewery | Eureka | CA |
| 48 | North Coast Brewing | Fort Bragg | CA |
| 49 | Wachusett Brewing | Westminster | MA |
| 50 | Avery Brewing | Boulder | CO |
This list, by contrast, is the Top 50 Overall Brewing Companies in the U.S. based on sales, by volume, for 2017. This includes all breweries, regardless of size or any other definitions or parameters.
Breweries in bold are considered to be “small and independent craft brewers” under the BA’s current definition. That there are so many footnotes (23 in total, or almost half of the list) explaining exceptions or reasons for the specific entry, seems illustrative of a growing problem with the definition of what is a craft brewery. I certainly understand the need for a trade group to have a clearly defined set of criteria for membership, but I think the current one is getting increasingly outdated again, and it’s only been a few years since the contentious debate that resulted in the current BA one. But it may be time to revisit that again. This is the same number of footnotes as last year, so this is a problem that is not resolving itself.
Top 50 Overall Brewing Companies
| Rank | Brewery Name | City | State |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bold = small and independent craft brewery | |||
| 1 | Anheuser-Busch, Inc (a) | Saint Louis | MO |
| 2 | MillerCoors (b) | Chicago | IL |
| 3 | Constellation (c) | Chicago | IL |
| 4 | Heineken (d) | White Plains | NY |
| 5 | Pabst Brewing (e) | Los Angeles | CA |
| 6 | D. G. Yuengling & Son | Pottsville | PA |
| 7 | North Amer. Breweries (f) | Rochester | NY |
| 8 | Diageo (g) | Norwalk | CT |
| 9 | Boston Beer Co (h) | Boston | MA |
| 10 | Sierra Nevada Brewing | Chico | CA |
| 11 | New Belgium Brewing (i) | Fort Collins | CO |
| 12 | Craft Brew Alliance (j) | Portland | OR |
| 13 | Duvel Moortgat (k) | Paso Robles/Kansas City/Cooperstown | CA/MO/NY |
| 14 | Gambrinus (l) | San Antonio/Berkeley/Portland | TX/CA/OR |
| 15 | Founders Brewing (m) | Grand Rapids | MI |
| 16 | Bell’s Brewery, Inc (n) | Comstock | MI |
| 17 | Sapporo USA (o) | La Crosse | WI |
| 18 | Stone Brewing | Escondido | CA |
| 19 | CANarchy (p) | Longmont/Tampa/Salt Lake City/Comstock Park | CO/FL/UT/MI |
| 20 | Deschutes Brewery | Bend | OR |
| 21 | Brooklyn Brewery | Brooklyn | NY |
| 22 | Dogfish Head | Milton | DE |
| 23 | Minhas Craft Brewery (q) | Monroe | WI |
| 24 | Artisanal Brewing Ventures (r) | Downingtown/Lakewood | PA/NY |
| 25 | SweetWater Brewing | Atlanta | GA |
| 26 | New Glarus Brewing | New Glarus | WI |
| 27 | Matt Brewing (s) | Utica | NY |
| 28 | Harpoon Brewery | Boston | MA |
| 29 | Alaskan Brewing | Juneau | AK |
| 30 | Great Lakes Brewing | Cleveland | OH |
| 31 | Abita Brewing | Abita Springs | LA |
| 32 | Odell Brewing | Fort Collins | CO |
| 33 | Stevens Point (t) | Stevens Point | WI |
| 34 | August Schell (u) | New Ulm | MN |
| 35 | Summit Brewing | Saint Paul | MN |
| 36 | 21st Amendment | Bay Area | CA |
| 37 | Shipyard Brewing (v) | Portland | ME |
| 38 | Flying Dog Brewery | Frederick | MD |
| 39 | Full Sail Brewing | Hood River | OR |
| 40 | Troëgs Brewing | Hershey | PA |
| 41 | Long Trail Brewing (w) | Bridgewater Corners | VT |
| 42 | Rogue Ales | Newport | OR |
| 43 | Rhinegeist Brewery | Cincinnati | OH |
| 44 | Narragansett Brewing | Providence | RI |
| 45 | Gordon Biersch Brewing | San Jose | CA |
| 46 | Allagash Brewing Co | Portland | ME |
| 47 | Uinta Brewing | Salt Lake City | UT |
| 48 | Ninkasi Brewing | Eugene | OR |
| 49 | Surly Brewing | Minneapolis | MN |
| 50 | Revolution Brewing | Chicago | IL |
2017 Top 50 Overall U.S.
Brewing Companies Notes
Footnotes from brand lists are illustrative, and may not be exhaustive – ownership stakes
reflect greater than 25% ownership:
(a) Anheuser-Busch, Inc includes 10 Barrel, Bass, Beck’s, Blue Point, Bud Light,
Budweiser, Breckenridge, Busch, Devils Backbone, Elysian, Four Peaks, Golden
Road, Goose Island, Karbach, King Cobra, Landshark, Michelob, Natural Rolling
Rock, Shock Top, Wicked Weed, Wild Series brands and Ziegenbock brands.
Does not include partially owned Coastal, Craft Brew Alliance, Fordham, Kona,
Old Dominion, Omission, Red Hook, and Widmer Brothers brands;
(b) MillerCoors includes A.C. Golden, Batch 19, Blue Moon, Colorado Native,
Coors, Hamms, Hop Valley, Icehouse, Keystone, Killian’s, Leinenkugel’s,
Mickey’s, Milwaukee’s Best, Miller, Olde English, Revolver, Saint Archer, Steel
Reserve, Tenth & Blake, and Terrapin brands;
(c) Constellation Brewing Co includes domestic brands Ballast Point, Funky Buddha,
and Tocayo Brands; it also includes imported brands Corona, Modelo, Pacifico,
and Victoria;
(d) Heineken Brewing Co includes domestic brand Lagunitas Brewing Co as well as
imported brands Dos Equis and Tecate;
(e) Pabst Brewing Co includes Ballantine, Lone Star, Pabst, Pearl, Primo, Rainier,
Schlitz and Small Town brands;
(f) North American Breweries includes Dundee, Genesee, Labatt Lime,
Mactarnahan’s, Magic Hat, Portland and Pyramid brands as well as import
volume;
(g) Diageo Brewing Co includes both domestically produced and imported Guinness
brands;
(h) Boston Beer Co includes Alchemy & Science and Sam Adams brands. Does not
include Twisted Tea or Angry Orchard brands;
(i) New Belgium Brewing Co includes Magnolia Brewing Brands (partial year);
(j) Craft Brew Alliance includes Kona, Omission, Red Hook and Widmer Brothers
brands;
(k) Duvel Moortgat includes Boulevard, Firestone Walker, and Ommegang brands;
(l) Gambrinus includes BridgePort, Shiner and Trumer brands;
(m)Founders ownership stake by Mahou San Miguel;
(n) Bell’s Brewery, Inc includes Bell’s and Upper Hand brands;
(o) Sapporo USA includes Anchor Brewing Co (partial year), Sapporo and Sleeman
brands as well as export volume;
(p) CANarchy includes Cigar City, Oskar Blues Brewing Co, Perrin and Utah
Brewers Cooperative brands;
(q) Minhas Craft Brewery includes Huber, Mountain Crest and Rhinelander brands as
well as export volume;
(r) Artisanal Brewing Ventures includes Victory and Southern Tier brands;
(s) Matt Brewing Co includes Flying Bison, Saranac and Utica Club brands;
(t) Stevens Point Brewery includes James Page and Point brands;
(u) August Schell Brewing Co includes Grain Belt and Schell’s brands;
(v) Shipyard Brewing Co includes Casco Bay, Sea Dog and Shipyard brands;
(w)Long Trail Brewing Co includes Long Trail, Otter Creek and The Shed brands;
Here is this year’s press release. For a few years, the BA had helpfully annotated the list, saving me lots of time, since I’d been annotating the list for nearly a decade, but they abandoned that practice three years ago. And I’ve also given up on annotating, too. It used to be fun to see who was doing well and rising and who was slipping, but it’s as much about business dealings as hard work and brewing, so I give up.
And similar to the last couple of years, the BA created a map showing the relative location of each of the breweries that made the list.
