The Brewers Association just announced the top 50 breweries and craft breweries in the U.S. based on sales, by volume, for 2022, 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 a number of years now, 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. I confess I used to look more forward to this list every year as it represented greater and wider acceptance of craft in the marketplace, but it doesn’t seem to hold the same thrill for me anymore, perhaps I’m getting jaded. Here is this year’s craft brewery list:

Top 50 Craft Brewing Companies

Rank	Company	City	State
1	D. G. Yuengling and Son Inc	Pottsville	PA
2	Boston Beer Co	Boston, Milton	MA, DE
3	Sierra Nevada Brewing Co	Chico	CA
4	Duvel Moortgat USA	Paso Robles, Kansas City, Cooperstown	CA, MO, NY
5	Gambrinus Company	Shiner, Berkeley	TX, CA
6	Artisanal Brewing Ventures	Dowingtown, Lakewood, Brooklyn	PA, NY, NY
7	Stone Brewing*	Escondido	CA
8	CANarchy	Longmont, Tampa, Salt Lake City, Comstock, Dallas	CO, FL, UT, MI, TX
9	Tilray Beer Brands	Atlanta, Montauk, San Diego	GA, NY, CA
10	Brooklyn Brewery	Brooklyn	NY
11	Deschutes Brewery	Bend	OR
12	New Glarus Brewing Co	New Glarus	WI
13	Athletic Brewing Company	Milford	CT
14	Matt Brewing Co	Utica	NY
15	Minhas Craft Brewery	Monroe	WI
16	Harpoon Brewery	Boston	MA
17	Gordon Biersch Brewing Co	San Jose	CA
18	Great Lakes Brewing Company	Cleveland	OH
19	Stevens Point Brewery	Stevens Point	WI
20	Allagash Brewing Company	Portland	ME
21	Georgetown Brewing Co	Seattle	WA
22	Odell Brewing Co	Fort Collins	CO
23	Rhinegeist Brewery	Cincinnati	OH
24	Three Floyds Brewing	Munster	IN
25	Troegs Brewing Co	Hershey	PA
26	Summit Brewing Co	Saint Paul	MN
27	Narragansett Brewing Co	Providence	RI
28	Craft Ohana	Kihei, San Diego	HI, CA
29	August Schell Brewing Company	New Ulm	MN
30	Kings & Convicts Brewing	San Diego	CA
31	Pittsburgh Brewing Co	Pittsburgh	PA
32	Alaskan Brewing Co	Juneau	AK
33	Kona Brewing Co	Kailua-Kona	HI
34	Flying Dog Brewery	Frederick	MD
35	Abita Brewing Co	Covington	LA
36	Fiddlehead Brewing	Shelburne	VT
37	Creature Comforts Brewing Co	Athens	GA
38	BrewDog Brewing Company	Canal Winchester	OH
39	Revolution Brewing	Chicago	IL
40	Lost Coast Brewery	Eureka	CA
41	Rogue Ales Brewery	Newport	OR
42	Surly Brewing Company	Minneapolis	MN
43	Ninkasi Brewing Co	Eugene	OR
44	Saint Arnold Brewing Co	Houston	TX
45	IndieBrew	Atlanta, Nashville	GA, TN
46	Shipyard Brewing Co	Portland	ME
47	Jack’s Abby Brewing	Framingham	MA
48	North Coast Brewing Co	Fort Bragg	CA
49	Pizza Port Brewing Company	Carlsbad	CA
50	Made by the Water	New Orleans, Apalachicola, Asheville, Charleston	LA, FL, NC, SC

The data was also accompanied by the following press release:

“The Brewers Association (BA)—the trade association representing small and independent American craft brewers—today released annual production figures for the U.S. craft brewing industry. In 2022, small and independent brewers collectively produced 24.3 million barrels of beer, on par with 2021’s numbers, and craft’s overall beer market share by volume grew to 13.2%, up from 13.1% the previous year. 

The overall beer market* shrank 3% by volume in 2022. Retail dollar value was estimated at $28.46 billion, representing a 24.6% market share and 6% growth over 2021. Sales growth was stronger than volume due to pricing, share shift to smaller brewers—who are more likely to sell onsite and via distributed draught—as well as the continued channel shift back to on-premise, which has a higher average retail value. Craft brewers provided 189,413 direct jobs, a 9% increase from 2021, driven both by growth in the number of breweries and a continued shift to hospitality-focused business models. 

“2022 presented small brewers with a number of challenges, including rising operating and material costs and increasing competition, particularly in distribution,” said Bart Watson, chief economist, Brewers Association. “In this maturing and competitive market, collective growth for the category is hard to come by.” 

The number of operating craft breweries continued to climb in 2022, reaching an all-time high of 9,552, including 2,035 microbreweries, 3,418 brewpubs, 3,838 taproom breweries, and 261 regional craft breweries. The total U.S. operating brewery count was 9,709, up from 9,384 in 2021. Throughout the year, there were 549 new brewery openings and 319 closings. Openings decreased for a second consecutive year, with the continued decline reflecting a more mature market. The closing rate increased in 2022 but continued to remain relatively low, at approximately 3%.  

“The relatively low closure rate reflects both the solid demand for fuller flavored local beer as well as the versatility and flexibility of small brewers,” added Watson.”

And here’s the second list, which is the Top 50 Brewing Companies Overall, which means all companies, not just the ones eligible for membership in the Brewers Association, which excludes from membership breweries that are too large or with large ownership structures, among other specific qualifications.

Top 50 Overall Brewing Companies 

Rank	Company	City	State
1	Anheuser-Busch Inc (a)	St. Louis	MO
2	MolsonCoors (b)	Chicago	IL
3	Constellation (c)	Chicago	IL
4	Heineken USA (d)	White Plains	NY
5	Pabst Brewing Co (e)	Los Angeles	CA
6	Diageo (f)	Norwalk	CT
7	D. G. Yuengling and Son Inc	Pottsville	PA
8	FIFCO USA (g)	Rochester	NY
9	Boston Beer Co (h)	Boston, Milton	MA, DE
10	Kirin-Lion / New Belgium Brewing (i)	Fort Collins, Comstock	CO, MI
11	Sierra Nevada Brewing Co	Chico	CA
12	Duvel Moortgat USA (j)	Paso Robles, Kansas City, Cooperstown	CA, MO, NY
13	Founders Brewing / Mahou San Miguel (k)	Grand Rapids, Boulder	MI, CO
14	Gambrinus (l)	Berkeley, Shiner	CA, TX
15	Artisanal Brewing Ventures (m)	Downingtown, Lakewood, Brooklyn	PA, NY, NY
16	Stone Brewing (n)	Escondido	CA
17	CANarchy (o)	Longmont, Tampa, Salt Lake City, Comstock, Dallas	CO, FL, UT, MI, TX
18	Tilray Beer Brands (p)	Atlanta, Montauk, San Diego	GA, NY, CA
19	Sapporo USA (q)	San Francisco	CA
20	Brooklyn Brewery	Brooklyn	NY
21	Deschutes Brewery	Bend	OR
22	New Glarus Brewing Co	New Glarus	WI
23	Athletic Brewing Company	Stratford	CT
24	Matt Brewing Co (r)	Utica	NY
25	Minhas Craft Brewery (s)	Monroe	WI
26	Harpoon Brewery	Boston	MA
27	Gordon Biersch Brewing Co	San Jose	CA
28	Great Lakes Brewing Company	Cleveland	OH
29	Stevens Point Brewery (t)	Stevens Point	WI
30	Allagash Brewing Company	Portland	ME
31	Georgetown Brewing Co	Seattle	WA
32	Odell Brewing Co	Fort Collins	CO
33	Rhinegeist Brewery	Cincinnati	OH
34	Three Floyds Brewing (u)	Munster	IN
35	Troegs Brewing Co	Hershey	PA
36	Summit Brewing Co	Saint Paul	MN
37	Narragansett Brewing Co	Pawtucket	RI
38	Craft Ohana (v)	Kihei, San Diego	HI/CA
39	August Schell Brewing Company (w)	New Ulm	MN
40	Kings & Convicts Brewing/Ballast Point	San Diego	CA
41	Pittsburgh Brewing (x)	Pittsburgh	PA
42	Alaskan Brewing Co	Juneau	AK
43	Kona Brewing Co (y)	Kailua-Kona	HI
44	Flying Dog Brewery	Frederick	MD
45	Abita Brewing Co	Covington	LA
46	Fiddlehead Brewing	Shelburne	VT
47	Creature Comforts	Athens	GA
48	BrewDog Brewing Co	Canal Winchester	OH
49	Revolution Brewing	Chicago	IL
50	Lost Coast Brewing Co	Eureka	CA

But this second list requires quite a few footnotes, which tells you a lot, honestly.

Footnote notes from brand lists are illustrative and may not be exhaustive.

Volumes reflected are of beer brands only and do not include flavored malt beverages or hard seltzers. Ownership stakes reflect greater than 25% ownership. Consequently, Mark Anthony Brands, owner of White Claw and Mike’s Hard Lemonade as well as other brand families, does not appear in these rankings.

(a) Anheuser-Busch, Inc includes 10 Barrel, Bass, Beck’s, Blue Point, Bud Light,
Budweiser, Breckenridge, Busch, Craft Brew Alliance, Devils Backbone, Elysian, Four
Peaks, Golden Road, Goose Island, Karbach, King Cobra, Landshark, Michelob, Natural,
Platform, Rolling Rock, Shock Top, Veza Sur, Wicked Weed, and Ziegenbock brands, as
well as other brand families and imported brands;
(b) MolsonCoors includes A.C. Golden, Atwater, 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, Steel Reserve, Tenth & Blake, and
Terrapin brands, as well as other brand families and imported brands;
(c) Constellation Brewing Co includes domestic brands Four Corners, 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, Heineken, and Tecate;
(e) Pabst Brewing Co includes Ballantine, Lone Star, National Bohemian, Pabst, Pearl,
Primo, Rainier, Schlitz, Small Town, and Stroh’s brands, as well as other brand families;
(f) Diageo Brewing Co includes both domestically produced and imported Guinness brands;
(g) FIFCO USA includes Dundee, Genesee, Labatt Lime, Mactarnahan’s, Magic Hat, and
Pyramid brands as well as import volume;
(h) Boston Beer Co includes Alchemy & Science, Angel City, Concrete Beach, Coney Island
Dogfish Head, and Sam Adams brands. Does not include volume from Truly, Twisted
Tea or Angry Orchard brands;
(i) New Belgium Brewing Co includes Bell’s and Magnolia Brewing brands;
(j) Duvel Moortgat includes Firestone Walker and the Duvel Moortgat USA brands of
Boulevard and Ommegang;
(k) Mahou San Miguel includes Founders and Avery Brewing volume;
(l) Gambrinus includes Shiner and Trumer brands;
(m)Artisanal Brewing Ventures includes Sixpoint, Southern Tier, and Victory brands; Does
not include Bold Rock Hard Cider volume;
(n) Stone Brewing was acquired by Sapporo late in 2022. It will be included in the Sapporo
USA volume starting in 2023. See footnote (q);
(o) CANarchy was acquired by Monster Beverage Corporation in 2021. Volume includes
Cigar City, Deep Ellum, Oskar Blues Brewing Co, Perrin, and Utah Brewers Cooperative
brands;
(p) Tilray Beer Brands include Sweetwater, Montauk, Green Flash, and Alpine Beer brands;
(q) Sapporo USA includes Anchor Brewing and imported brands. Stone Brewing (n) will be
included in future years;
(r) Matt Brewing Co includes Flying Bison, Saranac, and Utica Club brands;
(s) Minhas Craft Brewery includes Huber, Mountain Crest, and Rhinelander brands as well
as export volume;
(t) Stevens Point Brewery includes James Page and Point brands;
(u) Three Floyds Brewing also includes volume for the WarPigs USA brand;
(v) Craft Ohana includes Maui Brewing and Modern Times brands;
(w)August Schell Brewing Co includes Grain Belt and Schell’s brands;
(x) Pittsburgh Brewing includes Iron City, IC Light, and other brand families;
(y) Volume is for the independently owned Kona Brewing Co in Hawaii. Does not include Kona volume owned by Anheuser-Busch (a) sold in the mainland USA.