Brewers Association Brewery Production Data FAQ

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The new members only brewery production data spreadsheet is now posted on the Brewery Production page in the statistics section of the website.

The “Brewery Data” file contains brewery control group production data and state data from the years 2011-2017. The Excel format allows for sorting by control group barrels, alphabetically or by size.

Because I get some similar questions on our data every year, I thought it might be helpful the create a frequently asked questions document.


Why don’t the numbers in the control group spreadsheet add up to the craft category total?

Do Not Publish (DNP) breweries represent the vast majority of the balance of the craft category volume. There are also slight adjustments from when we publish the annual growth and category figures and these control group figures, but they are minor. Finally, breweries that were acquired mid-year were pro-rated in the overall craft production figure.

If I add up the control groups in my state and compare them with the state production figures, there are major differences. Why?

The state listed in the control group spreadsheet and the May/June tables indicates where each company is headquartered, but a number of groups have production in multiple states. The state-by-state production figures take into account where the production actually occurred, not just where a company is headquartered. This shifts volume both for companies with multiple brewing facilities, as well as companies that control or use an alternating proprietorship in a state other than where their headquarters is located.

When I line up the craft production number for 2016 and 2017, I see a different growth figure than what you published. Can you explain the discrepancy?

Because the independent craft brewer data set changes every year, growth figures are presented on a comparable base, only using the breweries that were included in the year. So growth is of the breweries that were in the data set this year. The comparable base figure can be found in the “Brewery Data” spreadsheet in the historical tab. In addition, anyone wishing to build their own figures can use the data in the “Large Brewer Regional” tab, which includes acquired brewers as well as select fuller-flavored brands produced by the large brewers.

How did you compute the number of breweries in my state last year?

We use active brewing facilities, with active defined as those licensed brewers who have beer available for sale to the public, either at their brewery or in distribution. When brewing companies have multiple facilities, we count each facility separately. This will often differ significantly from a State or Federal active license number, which will include breweries in planning, as well as recently closed breweries who still hold an active license. We have included a spreadsheet tab with active TTB permits by state by year for those who wish to compare license numbers by state.

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