Brewers Association Lists Top 50 Breweries of 2015

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Boulder, CO • April 5, 2016 – The Brewers Association (BA)—the not-for-profit trade group representing small and independent craft brewers—today released its annual lists of the top 50 craft and overall brewing companies in the U.S., based on beer sales volume. Of the top 50 overall brewing companies, 43 were craft brewing companies.1

“The top U.S. brewers continue to drive demand, growth, innovation and exponential interest in beers from small and independent brewers,” said Bart Watson, chief economist, Brewers Association. “With a historic record number of breweries in the U.S., the top brewers continue to open new markets and expose beer drinkers to a variety of fuller-flavored styles and offerings.”

Top 50 U.S. Craft Brewing Companies

(Based on 2015 beer sales volume*) View & Download Map of Top 50

Rank Brewing Company City State
1 D. G. Yuengling and Son, Inc Pottsville PA
2 Boston Beer Co Boston MA
3 Sierra Nevada Brewing Co Chico CA
4 New Belgium Brewing Co Fort Collins CO
5 Gambrinus San Antonio TX
6 Lagunitas Brewing Co* Petaluma CA
7 Bell’s Brewery, Inc Comstock MI
8 Deschutes Brewery Bend OR
9 Minhas Craft Brewery Monroe WI
10 Stone Brewing Co Escondido CA
11 Ballast Point Brewing & Spirits* San Diego CA
12 Brooklyn Brewery Brooklyn NY
13 Firestone Walker Brewing Co Paso Robles CA
14 Oskar Blues Brewing Holding Co Longmont CO
15 Duvel Moortgat USA Kansas City & Cooperstown MO/NY
16 Dogfish Head Craft Brewery Milton DE
17 Matt Brewing Co Utica NY
18 SweetWater Brewing Co Atlanta GA
19 Harpoon Brewery Boston MA
20 New Glarus Brewing Co New Glarus WI
21 Great Lakes Brewing Co Cleveland OH
22 Alaskan Brewing Co Juneau AK
23 Abita Brewing Co Abita Springs LA
24 Anchor Brewing Co San Francisco CA
25 Stevens Point Brewery Co Stevens Point WI
26 Victory Brewing Co Downingtown PA
27 August Schell Brewing Co New Ulm MN
28 Long Trail Brewing Co Bridgewater Corners VT
29 Summit Brewing Co Saint Paul MN
30 Shipyard Brewing Co Portland ME
31 Full Sail Brewing Co Hood River OR
32 Odell Brewing Co Fort Collins CO
33 Southern Tier Brewing Co Lakewood NY
34 Rogue Ales Brewery Newport OR
35 21st Amendment Brewery Bay Area CA
36 Ninkasi Brewing Co Eugene OR
37 Flying Dog Brewery Frederick MD
38 Narragansett Brewing Co Providence RI
39 Left Hand Brewing Co Longmont CO
40 Uinta Brewing Co Salt Lake City UT
41 Green Flash Brewing Co San Diego CA
42 Allagash Brewing Co Portland ME
43 Lost Coast Brewery Eureka CA
44 Bear Republic Brewing Co Cloverdale CA
45 Troegs Brewing Co Hershey PA
46 Karl Strauss Brewing Co San Diego CA
47 Breckenridge Brewery* Littleton CO
48 North Coast Brewing Co Fort Bragg CA
49 Four Peaks Brewing Co* Tempe AZ
50 Revolution Brewing Co Chicago IL
*Craft volume pro-rated in 2015 or will be pro-rated/exiting craft brewer data set in 2016

Top 50 U.S. Overall Brewing Companies2

(Based on 2015 beer sales volume)

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 and Son, Inc Pottsville PA
5 Boston Beer Co (d) Boston MA
6 North American Breweries (e) Rochester NY
7 Sierra Nevada Brewing Co Chico CA
8 New Belgium Brewing Co Fort Collins CO
9 Craft Brew Alliance (f) Portland OR
10 Lagunitas Brewing Co (g) Petaluma CA
11 Gambrinus (h) San Antonio TX
12 Bell’s Brewery, Inc (i) Comstock MI
13 Deschutes Brewery Bend OR
14 Minhas Craft Brewery (j) Monroe WI
15 Stone Brewing Co Escondido CA
16 Sleeman Brewing Co (k) LaCrosse WI
17 Ballast Point Brewing & Spirits (l) San Diego CA
18 Brooklyn Brewery Brooklyn NY
19 Firestone Walker Brewing Co (m) Paso Robles CA
20 Founders Brewing Co Grand Rapids MI
21 Oskar Blues Brewing Holding Co (n) Longmont CO
22 Duvel Moortgat USA (o) Kansas City & Cooperstown MO/NY
23 Dogfish Head Craft Brewery Milton DE
24 Matt Brewing Co (p) Utica NY
25 SweetWater Brewing Co Atlanta GA
26 Harpoon Brewery Boston MA
27 New Glarus Brewing Co New Glarus WI
28 Great Lakes Brewing Co Cleveland OH
29 Alaskan Brewing Co Juneau AK
30 Abita Brewing Co Abita Springs LA
31 Anchor Brewing Co San Francisco CA
32 Stevens Point Brewery Co (q) Stevens Point WI
33 Victory Brewing Co Downingtown PA
34 August Schell Brewing Co (r) New Ulm MN
35 Long Trail Brewing Co (s) Bridgewater Corners VT
36 Summit Brewing Co Saint Paul MN
37 Shipyard Brewing Co (t) Portland ME
38 Full Sail Brewing Co Hood River OR
39 Odell Brewing Co Fort Collins CO
40 Southern Tier Brewing Co Lakewood NY
41 Rogue Ales Brewery Newport OR
42 21st Amendment Brewery Bay Area CA
43 Ninkasi Brewing Co Eugene OR
44 Flying Dog Brewery Frederick MD
45 Narragansett Brewing Co Providence RI
46 Pittsburgh Brewing Co (u) Pittsburgh PA
47 Left Hand Brewing Co Longmont CO
48 Uinta Brewing Co Salt Lake City UT
49 Green Flash Brewing Co San Diego CA
50 Allagash Brewing Co Portland ME

Download PDF of top 50 breweries

View Top 50 U.S. Craft Breweries on a Map

Click on map to view. Top 50 Craft Breweries 2015

The Association’s full 2015 industry analysis, which shows regional trends and sales by individual breweries, will be published in the May/June issue of The New Brewer, available in May 2016.

For additional statistics, see the Brewers Association’s annual craft brewing industry growth report for 2015.

1 Figure based on companies that met craft brewer definition for all or part of 2015. An American craft brewer is small, independent and traditional. Small: Annual production of 6 million barrels of beer or less (approximately 3 percent of U.S. annual sales). Beer production is attributed to the rules of alternating proprietorships. Independent: Less than 25 percent of the craft brewery is owned or controlled (or equivalent economic interest) by an alcoholic beverage industry member that is not itself a craft brewer. Traditional: A brewer that has a majority of its total beverage alcohol volume in beers whose flavor derives from traditional or innovative brewing ingredients and their fermentation. Flavored malt beverages (FMBs) are not considered beers.
2Top 50 Overall U.S. Brewing Companies notes: (a) includes 10 Barrel, Bass, Beck’s, Blue Point, Bud Light, Budweiser, Busch, Golden Road (partial year) Goose Island, Elysian (partial year) Landshark, Michelob, Rolling Rock, Shock Top and Wild Series brands. Does not include partially owned Coastal, Craft Brew Alliance, Fordham, Kona, Old Dominion, Omission, Red Hook and Widmer Brothers brands; (b) includes A.C. Golden, Batch 19, Blue Moon, Colorado Native, Coors, Keystone, Killian’s, Leinenkugel’s, Miller, Saint Archer (partial year), and Tenth & Blake brands; (c) includes Pabst, Schlitz, Small Town, and 28+ other brand families; (d) includes Alchemy & Science and Sam Adams brands. Does not include Twisted Tea or Angry Orchard brands; (e) includes Dundee, Genesee, Labatt Lime, Magic Hat and Pyramid brands; (f) includes Kona, Omission, Red Hook and Widmer Brothers brands; (g) full year volume; craft rank reflects pro-rated volume due to sale of stake to Heineken (h) includes BridgePort, Shiner and Trumer brands; (i) includes Bell’s and Upper Hand brands; (j) includes Mountain Crest and 10 other brand families as well as export volume; (k) includes Sleeman and Sapporo brands as well as export volume; (l) volume will be pro-rated in 2016 data set due to sale to Constellation Brands; (m) will be part of control group with Duvel Moortgat USA starting in 2016; (n) includes Utah Brewers Cooperative and Perrin Brewing Company brands, will include Cigar City brands starting in 2016; (o) includes Boulevard and Ommegang brands; (p) includes Flying Bison, Saranac and Utica Club brands; (q) includes James Page, Point and Whole Hog brands; (r) includes Grain Belt and Schell’s brands; (s) includes Long Trail, Otter Creek, The Shed and Wolaver’s brands; (t) includes Casco Bay, Sea Dog and Shipyard brands; (u) includes Iron City and 17 other brand families.

Contacts:

Abby Berman Cohen (on behalf of the Brewers Association), 646.695.7044

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About the Brewers Association

The Brewers Association is the not-for-profit trade association dedicated to small and independent American brewers, their beers and the community of brewing enthusiasts. The Brewers Association (BA) represents more than 70 percent of the brewing industry, and its members make more than 99 percent of the beer brewed in the U.S. The BA organizes events including the World Beer CupSMGreat American Beer Festival®Craft Brewers Conference & BrewExpo America®SAVOR℠: An American Craft Beer & Food Experience, Homebrew Con, National Homebrew Competition and American Craft Beer Week®. The BA publishes The New Brewer magazine and its Brewers Publications division is the largest publisher of contemporary and relevant brewing literature for today’s craft brewers and homebrewers.

Beer lovers are invited to learn more about the dynamic world of craft beer at CraftBeer.com and about homebrewing via the BA’s American Homebrewers Association. Follow us on Twitter.

The Brewers Association is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, gender, religion, age, disability, political beliefs, sexual orientation, or marital/familial status. The BA complies with provisions of Executive Order 11246 and the rules, regulations, and relevant orders of the Secretary of Labor.
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