The Brewers Association yesterday announced the top 50 breweries and craft breweries in the U.S. based on sales, by volume, for 2023, 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 last year decided going forward to present them together since the two are 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. Part of my malaise I think comes from the fact that consolidation has become such a part of the current landscape that it’s in a sense how things were before the rise of craft beer. There’s nothing inherently wrong this, it’s a natural part in the evolution of any industry. But as an old-timer in this nascent craft industry, it was the independent spirit of the early brewery pioneers that built the foundation of today’s beer scene. And seeing it contract into mini-conglomerates and empires, however natural, is not very pleasant to watch. Of the top ten, six of them are groups of two or more breweries, and number one is Yuengling, which is an old guard brewery that’s small and independent in name only, not in spirit (that’s not a knock on Yuengling, at least it’s not meant to be). It’s understandable, but no less disheartening, and will undoubtedly continue for the foreseeable future. Anyway, 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	Shiner, Berkeley	TX, CA
6	Tilray Beer Brands	Atlanta, Montauk, San Diego, Bend, Seattle, Portland, Breckenridge, Patchogue	GA, NY, CA, OR, WA, OR, CO, NY
7	Artisanal Brewing Ventures	Downingtown, Lakewood, Brooklyn	PA, NY, NY
8	Brooklyn Brewery	Brooklyn	NY
9	Monster Brewing	Longmont, Tampa, Salt Lake City, Comstock, Dallas	CO, FL, UT, MI, TX
10	Athletic Brewing Company	Milford	CT
11	New Glarus Brewing Co	New Glarus	WI
12	Deschutes Brewery	Bend	OR
13	Matt Brewing Co	Utica	NY
14	Gordon Biersch Brewing Co	San Jose	CA
15	Allagash Brewing Company	Portland	ME
16	Georgetown Brewing Co	Seattle	WA
17	Great Lakes Brewing Company	Cleveland	OH
18	Harpoon Brewery	Boston	MA
19	Stevens Point Brewery	Stevens Point	WI
20	Three Floyds Brewing	Munster	IN
21	Pittsburgh Brewing Co	Pittsburgh	PA
22	Rhinegeist Brewery	Cincinnati	OH
23	Narragansett Brewing Co	Pawtucket	RI
24	August Schell Brewing Company	New Ulm	MN
25	Odell Brewing Co	Fort Collins	CO
26	Craft ‘Ohana (Maui/Modern Times)	Kihei, San Diego	HI, CA
27	Troegs Brewing Co	Hershey	PA
28	Fiddlehead Brewing	Shelburne	VT
29	Minhas Craft Brewery	Monroe	WI
30	Kings & Convicts Brewing	San Diego	CA
31	Alaskan Brewing Co.	Juneau	AK
32	Kona Brewing Hawaii	Kailua-Kona	HI
33	Abita Brewing Co	Covington	LA
34	Creature Comforts Brewing Co.	Athens	GA
35	Great Frontier Holdings	Eugene, Portland	OR, OR
36	BrewDog Brewing Co	Canal Winchester	OH
37	Summit Brewing Co	St. Paul	MN
38	Jack’s Abby Brewing, LLC	Framingham	MA
39	Revolution Brewing	Chicago	IL
40	Montucky Cold Snacks	Bozeman	MT
41	Saint Arnold Brewing Co	Houston	TX
42	Lost Coast Brewery	Eureka	CA
43	Surly Brewing Company	Minneapolis	MN
44	Rogue Ales Brewery	Newport	OR
45	United States Beverage LLC	Salt Lake City, Elmsford	UT, NY
46	Shipyard Brewing Co	Portland	ME
47	Pizza Port	Carlsbad	CA
48	Coronado Brewing Co	Coronado	CA
49	Drake’s Brewing Co	San Leandro	CA
50	IndieBrew	Atlanta, Nashville	GA, TN

The data was also accompanied by the following press release:

Boulder, Colo. — 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.

The number of operating craft breweries continued to climb in 2023, reaching an all-time high of 9,683, including 2,071 microbreweries, 3,467 brewpubs, 3,900 taproom breweries, and 245 regional craft breweries. The total U.S. operating brewery count was 9,812, up from 9,730 in 2022. Throughout the year, there were 495 new brewery openings and 418 closings. Openings decreased for a second consecutive year, with the trend reflecting a more mature market. The closing rate increased in 2023 but continued to remain relatively low, at approximately 4%.

Driven by the growing number of breweries and a continued shift to hospitality-focused business models, craft brewers directly employed 191,421 people in 2023, a 1.1% increase from 2022.

“2023 was another competitive and challenging year for small and independent brewers,” said Bart Watson, vice president of strategy and chief economist of the Brewers Association. “Nevertheless, even as growth has downshifted, small brewers have proved quite resilient, as seen in the increase in number of breweries, relatively low closing rates, and gains in onsite sales and jobs.”

Collectively, small and independent brewers produced 23.4 million barrels of beer in 2023, a decline of 1.0% from 2022³, though craft’s overall beer market share by volume grew to 13.3%, up from 13.1% in 2022 as craft’s declines were smaller than overall beer volume losses.

The overall beer market shrank 5.1% by volume in 2023. Retail dollar value was estimated at $28.6 billion, representing a 24.5% market share and 3% growth over a comparable value in 2022. Sales growth was stronger than volume primarily due to pricing but also due to slightly stronger onsite sales growth versus distribution.

“As always, the beverage alcohol market and consumer demand continue to evolve,” added Watson. ”Many brewers are accordingly updating their operations to match those changes, focusing on their business models, go-to-market strategies, and brand strategies to help their businesses match those shifts.”

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.

In this list, the top ten are either a group of brewery businesses or quite larger and/or old enough to predate the 1980s. Number 11, Sierra Nevada, is the first actual craft brewery on the list. But overall the list is so filled with complicated business arrangements that there are 26 footnotes for 50 entries.

Top 50 Overall Brewing Companies 

Rank	Company	City	State
1	Anheuser-Busch Inc	St. Louis	MO
2	MolsonCoors	Chicago	IL
3	Constellation	Chicago	IL
4	Heineken USA	White Plains	NY
5	Pabst Brewing Co	Los Angeles	CA
6	Diageo	Norwalk	CT
7	D. G. Yuengling and Son Inc	Pottsville	PA
8	FIFCO USA	Rochester	NY
9	Kirin-Lion	Fort Collins, Comstock	CO, MI
10	Boston Beer Co	Boston, Milton	MA, DE
11	Sierra Nevada Brewing Co	Chico	CA
12	Sapporo-Stone Brewing	Escondido	CA
13	Duvel Moortgat USA	Paso Robles, Kansas City, Cooperstown	CA, MO, NY
14	Gambrinus	Shiner, Berkeley	TX, CA
15	Mahou San Miguel	Grand Rapids, Boulder	MI, CO
16	Tilray Beer Brands	Atlanta, Montauk, San Diego, Bend, Seattle, Portland, Breckenridge, Patchogue	GA, NY, CA, OR, WA, OR, CO, NY
17	Artisanal Brewing Ventures	Downingtown, Lakewood, Brooklyn	PA, NY, NY
18	Brooklyn Brewery	Brooklyn	NY
19	Monster Brewing	Longmont, Tampa, Salt Lake City, Comstock, Dallas	CO, FL, UT, MI, TX
20	Athletic Brewing Company	Milford	CT
21	New Glarus Brewing Co	New Glarus	WI
22	Deschutes Brewery	Bend	OR
23	Matt Brewing Co	Utica	NY
24	Gordon Biersch Brewing Co	San Jose	CA
25	Allagash Brewing Company	Portland	ME
26	Georgetown Brewing Co	Seattle	WA
27	Great Lakes Brewing Company	Cleveland	OH
28	Harpoon Brewery	Boston	MA
29	Stevens Point Brewery	Stevens Point	WI
30	Three Floyds Brewing	Munster	IN
31	Pittsburgh Brewing Co	Pittsburgh	PA
32	Rhinegeist Brewery	Cincinnati	OH
33	Narragansett Brewing Co	Pawtucket	RI
34	August Schell Brewing Company	New Ulm	MN
35	Odell Brewing Co	Fort Collins	CO
36	Craft ‘Ohana (Maui/Modern Times)	Kihei, San Diego	HI, CA
37	Troegs Brewing Co	Hershey	PA
38	Fiddlehead Brewing	Shelburne	VT
39	Minhas Craft Brewery	Monroe	WI
40	Kings & Convicts Brewing	San Diego	CA
41	Alaskan Brewing Co.	Juneau	AK
42	Kona Brewing Hawaii	Kailua-Kona	HI
43	Abita Brewing Co	Covington	LA
44	Creature Comforts Brewing Co.	Athens	GA
45	Great Frontier Holdings	Eugene, Portland	OR, OR
46	BrewDog Brewing Co	Canal Winchester	OH
47	Summit Brewing Co	St. Paul	MN
48	Jack’s Abby Brewing, LLC	Framingham	MA
49	Revolution Brewing	Chicago	IL
50	Montucky Cold Snacks	Bozeman	MT