The Brewers Association has also just announced the top 50 breweries in the U.S. based on sales, by volume, for 2016, which this year they’re calling the “Top 50 Overall Brewing Companies.” This includes all breweries, regardless of size or any other definitions or parameters. Here is the new list:
Top 50 Overall Brewing Companies
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group to have a clearly defined set of criteria for membership, but I think the current one is getting increasingly outdated again, and it’s only been a few years since the contentious debate that resulted in the current BA one.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.
| Rank | Brewing Company | City | State |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Anheuser-Busch, Inc (a) | Saint Louis | MO |
| 2 | MillerCoors (b) | Chicago | IL |
| 3 | Pabst Brewing Co (c) | Los Angeles | CA |
| 4 | D. G. Yuengling & Son, Inc | Pottsville | PA |
| 5 | North American Breweries (d) | Rochester | NY |
| 6 | Boston Beer Co (e) | Boston | MA |
| 7 | Sierra Nevada Brewing Co | Chico | CA |
| 8 | New Belgium Brewing Co | Fort Collins | CO |
| 9 | Lagunitas Brewing Co (f) | Petaluma | CA |
| 10 | Craft Brew Alliance (g) | Portland | OR |
| 11 | Gambrinus (h) | San Antonio | TX |
| 12 | Duvel Moortgat (i) | Paso Robles/Kansas City/Cooperstown | CA/MO/NY |
| 13 | Ballast Point Brewing Co (j) | San Diego | CA |
| 14 | Bell’s Brewery, Inc (k) | Comstock | MI |
| 15 | Deschutes Brewery | Bend | OR |
| 16 | Founders Brewing Co (l) | Grand Rapids | MI |
| 17 | Stone Brewing Co | Escondido | CA |
| 18 | Oskar Blues Brewing Holding Co (m) |
Longmont | CO |
| 19 | Sapporo USA (n) | La Crosse | WI |
| 20 | Brooklyn Brewery | Brooklyn | NY |
| 21 | Minhas Craft Brewery (o) | Monroe | WI |
| 22 | Artisanal Brewing Ventures (p) | Downington/Lakewood | PA/NY |
| 23 | Dogfish Head Craft Brewery | Milton | DE |
| 24 | SweetWater Brewing Co | Atlanta | GA |
| 25 | New Glarus Brewing Co | New Glarus | WI |
| 26 | Matt Brewing Co (q) | Utica | NY |
| 27 | Harpoon Brewery | Boston | MA |
| 28 | Alaskan Brewing Co | Juneau | AK |
| 29 | Abita Brewing Co | Abita Springs | LA |
| 30 | Great Lakes Brewing Co | Cleveland | OH |
| 31 | Anchor Brewing Co | San Francisco | CA |
| 32 | Stevens Point Brewery (r) | Stevens Point | WI |
| 33 | August Schell Brewing Co (s) | New Ulm | MN |
| 33 | Long Trail Brewing Co (t) | Bridgewater Corners | VT |
| 35 | Summit Brewing Co | Saint Paul | MN |
| 36 | Odell Brewing Co | Fort Collins | CO |
| 37 | Shipyard Brewing Co (u) | Portland | ME |
| 38 | Full Sail Brewing Co | Hood River | OR |
| 39 | Rogue Ales | Newport | OR |
| 40 | 21st Amendment Brewery | Bay Area | CA |
| 41 | Flying Dog Brewery | Frederick | MD |
| 42 | Ninkasi Brewing Co | Eugene | OR |
| 43 | Gordon Biersch Brewing Co | San Jose | CA |
| 44 | Allagash Brewing Co | Portland | ME |
| 45 | Narragansett Brewing Co | Providence | RI |
| 46 | Green Flash Brewing Co (v) | San Diego | CA |
| 47 | Tröegs Brewing Co | Hershey | PA |
| 48 | Uinta Brewing Co | Salt Lake City | UT |
| 49 | Bear Republic Brewing Co | Cloverdale | CA |
| 50 | Pittsburgh Brewing Co (w) | Pittsburgh | PA |
2016 Top 50 Overall U.S.
Brewing Companies Notes
Details 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 (partial year), Elysian, Four Peaks,
Golden Road, Goose Island, Karbach (partial year), King Cobra, Landshark, Michelob,
Natural Rolling Rock, Shock Top, 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 (partial year), Icehouse, Keystone, Killian’s, Leinenkugel’s,
Mickey’s, Milwaukee’s Best, Miller, Olde English, Revolver (partial year), Saint Archer,
Steel Reserve, Tenth & Blake, and Terrapin (partial year) brands;
(c) Pabst Brewing Co includes Ballantine, Lone Star, Pabst, Pearl, Primo, Rainier, Schlitz
and Small Town brands;
(d) North American Breweries includes Dundee, Genesee, Labatt Lime, Mactarnahan’s,
Magic Hat, Portland and Pyramid brands as well as import volume;
(e) Boston Beer Co includes Alchemy & Science and Sam Adams brands. Does not include
Twisted Tea or Angry Orchard brands;
(f) Lagunitas Brewing Co ownership stake by Heineken;
(g) Craft Brew Alliance includes Kona, Omission, Red Hook and Widmer Brothers brands;
(h) Gambrinus includes BridgePort, Shiner and Trumer brands;
(i) Duvel Moortgat USA includes Boulevard, Firestone Walker, and Ommegang brands;
(j) Ballast Point Brewing Co owned by Constellation brands;
(k) Bell’s Brewery, Inc includes Bell’s and Upper Hand brands;
(l) Founders ownership stake by Mahou San Miguel;
(m) Oskar Blues Brewing Holding Co includes Cigar City, Perrin and Utah Brewers
Cooperative brands;
(n) Sapporo USA includes Sapporo and Sleeman brands as well as export volume;
(o) Minhas Craft Brewery includes Huber, Mountain Crest and Rhinelander brands as well as
export volume;
(p) Artisanal Brewing Ventures includes Victory and Southern Tier brands;
(q) Matt Brewing Co includes Flying Bison, Saranac and Utica Club brands;
(r) Stevens Point Brewery includes James Page and Point brands;
(s) August Schell Brewing Co includes Grain Belt and Schell’s brands;
(t) Long Trail Brewing Co includes Long Trail, Otter Creek, The Shed and Wolaver’s
brands;
(u) Shipyard Brewing Co includes Casco Bay, Sea Dog and Shipyard brands;
(v) Green Flash Brewing Co includes Alpine and Green Flash brands;
(w)Pittsburgh Brewing Co includes Iron City and Old German brands
Here is this year’s press release.