Brewers Association Unveils 2015 Top 50 Lists

(Boulder, CO)  – 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 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*)

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)	Kalamazoo	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	MO
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 Company	Longmont	CO
48	Uinta Brewing Co	Salt Lake City	UT
49	Green Flash Brewing Co	San Diego	CA
50	Allagash Brewing Co

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.

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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 Cup^SM, Great 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.