Brewers Association releases list of Top 50 U.S. Breweries

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(Boulder, CO – MAY 14, 2010) The Brewers Association, the not-for-profit trade group that tabulates production statistics for U.S. breweries, released its annual lists reporting the top 50 brewing companies in the country. The ranking is based on 2009 beer sales volume.

There are two lists. The first list shows the Top 50 Craft Brewing Companies, which the Brewers Association defines as small and independent craft brewers (complete definition below). The second list shows the Top 50 Overall Brewing Companies, which includes the omnipresent macro-brewering leviathans, like Anheuser-Busch.

Of the top 50 Overall Brewing Companies, 76 percent are craft brewing companies. We like that.

Top 50 Craft Breweries (based on 2009 sales volume)

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The Top 50 Overall Breweries (based on 2009 sales volume)

Notable changes and additions:

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• Three new breweries have made their first appearance on the Top 50 Craft Brewing Companies list: Oskar Blues Brewery, Saint Arnold Brewing Co. and Bear Republic Brewing Co.
• Stevens Point Brewery was added to the Top 50 Craft Brewing Companies list for 2008 and 2009, as the majority of its sales are now in traditional all-malt beers.
• Independent Brewers United and Gambrinus, each with two separate brand families in the Top 50 Overall Brewing Companies list, are shown by their separate companies.
• Flavored malt beverages are not considered beer for the Top 50 rankings.

The definition of a craft brewer as stated by the Brewers Association: An American craft brewer is small, independent, and traditional. Small: Annual production of beer less than 2 million barrels. Beer production is attributed to a brewer according to the rules of alternating proprietorships. Flavored malt beverages are not considered beer for purposes of this definition. Independent: Less than 25% of the craft brewery is owned or controlled (or equivalent economic interest) by an alcoholic beverage industry member who is not themselves a craft brewer. Traditional: A brewer who has either an all malt flagship (the beer which represents the greatest volume among that brewer’s brands) or has at least 50% of its volume in either all malt beers or in beers which use adjuncts to enhance rather than lighten flavor.

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