Craft Beer Segment-The One to Watch
Fastest Growing In the Alcohol Beverage
Industry
Boulder,
Colo. . April 10, 2007 - In 2006,
while sales of large domestic brewers
still lagged behind their 2004 peak, the
craft beer segment continued to explode.
Scan data from Information Resources Inc.
shows craft beer with a 17.8% increase
in supermarket sales for 2006--more growth
than any other alcohol beverage category
in the supermarket sales channel.
The
Brewers Association, which tabulates industry
growth data, reports that in 2006 77.7%
of the craft beer produced was made from
the top 50 craft brewing companies. Additionally,
34 out of the top 50 brewing companies
in the U.S meet the Brewers Association's
definition of a craft brewer.
"Beer
made by small, independent and traditional
breweries is definitely an American success
story," states Paul Gatza, Director
of the Brewers Association. "There's
a change in lifestyle going on. People
are trading up and that is what is creating
such strong demand for craft beer".
With
just under 1400 small breweries the segment
eclipsed 6.7 million barrels in 2006.
The fastest growing craft beer sector
in 2006 was microbreweries (those under
15,000 barrels a year). Sales were up
16%, showing customer support for local
breweries. Total craft beer industry sales
have grown 31.5% over the last 3 years
and early 2007 indicators point toward
accelerating sales growth.
"If
you Google craft beer you'll see more
press coverage than ever before. This
is because beers from craft breweries
provide diversity and flavor and that's
what people want," stated Julia Herz,
a spokesperson for the Brewers Association.
Twenty-two states are represented in the
top 50 brewing companies list, according
to the Brewers Association. California
hosts (7) top breweries. Colorado has
(5) and Oregon and Wisconsin each host
(4) top producers.
The
remainder of the top 50 operate from New
York (3), Pennsylvania (3), Vermont (3),
Washington (3), Illinois (2), Massachusetts
(2), Minnesota (2), Missouri (2), Alaska
(1) , Louisiana (1), Maine (1), Michigan
(1), Montana (1), Ohio (1) and Texas (1),
Complete listings of the top 50 craft
brewing companies by state and top 50
overall brewing companies are included
below.
Top
50 'Craft Brewing' Companies Listed by
State and Rank
(based on 2006 sales as tabulated by the
Brewers Association)
| Rank |
Brewery
Name |
City |
State |
8 |
Alaskan
Brewing Company |
Juneau |
AK |
2 |
Sierra
Nevada Brewing Co. |
Chico |
CA |
11 |
Anchor
Brewing Co. |
San
Francisco |
CA |
14 |
Gordon
Biersch Brewing Co. |
San
Jose |
CA |
23 |
Stone
Brewing Co. |
Escondido |
CA |
25 |
Firestone
Walker Brewing Co. |
Paso
Robles |
CA |
28 |
The
Lagunitas Brewing Co. |
Petaluma |
CA |
37 |
Lost
Coast Brewery and Cafe |
Eureka
|
CA |
38 |
BJ's
Restaurants, Inc. |
Huntington
Beach |
CA |
42 |
North
Coast Brewing Co. |
Fort
Bragg |
CA |
44 |
Anderson
Valley Brewing Co. |
Boonville |
CA |
3 |
New
Belgium Brewing Company Inc |
Fort
Collins |
CO |
24 |
Rock
Bottom Brewery Restaurants Inc. |
Louisville
|
CO |
29 |
Flying
Dog Brewery |
Denver
|
CO |
31 |
Odell
Brewing Co. |
Fort
Collins |
CO |
36 |
Breckenridge
Brewery |
Denver |
CO |
41 |
Boulder
Beer Co. |
Boulder |
CO |
27 |
Dogfish
Head Craft Brewery |
Lewes |
DE |
30 |
Sweetwater
Brewing Company |
Atlanta |
GA |
12 |
Kona
Brewing Co. |
Kailua-Kona |
HI |
18 |
Abita
Brewing Co. |
Abita
Springs |
LA |
1 |
Boston
Beer Co. |
Boston |
MA |
9 |
The
Harpoon Brewery |
Boston |
MA |
50 |
Wachusett
Brewing Co., Inc. |
Westminster |
MA |
17 |
Shipyard
Brewing Company LLC |
Portland |
ME |
46 |
D.L.
Geary Brewing Co. Inc. |
Portland |
ME |
15 |
Bell
's Brewery, Inc. |
Galesburg |
MI |
16 |
Summit
Brewing Company |
Saint
Paul |
MN |
7 |
Boulevard
Brewing Company |
Kansas
City |
MO |
48 |
Saint
Louis Brewing /Schlafly Beers |
Maplewood |
MO |
33 |
Big
Sky Brewing Company |
Missoula |
MT |
5 |
Matt
Brewing Company |
Utica |
NY |
20 |
The
Brooklyn Brewery |
Brooklyn |
NY |
26 |
The
Great Lakes Brewing Co. |
Cleveland |
OH |
6 |
Deschutes
Brewery, Inc. |
Bend |
OR |
10 |
Full
Sail Brewing Company |
Hood
River |
OR |
22 |
Rogue
Ales |
Newport |
OR |
40 |
McMenamins,
Inc. |
Portland |
OR |
35 |
Victory
Brewing Co. |
Downingtown |
PA |
39 |
Gordon
Biersch Brewery Restaurants |
Chattanooga |
TN |
47 |
Utah
Brewers Cooperative |
Park
City |
UT |
49 |
Uinta
Brewing Company |
Salt
Lake City |
UT |
43 |
Old
Dominion Brewing Company |
Ashburn |
VA |
13 |
Magic
Hat Brewing Company
& Performing Arts Center |
South
Burlington |
VT |
19 |
Long
Trail Brewing Company |
Bridgewater
Corners |
VT |
34 |
Otter
Creek Brewing |
Middlebury |
VT |
4 |
Pyramid
Breweries Inc. |
Seattle |
WA |
32 |
Mac
and Jack's Brewery Inc. |
Redmond |
WA |
21 |
New
Glarus Brewing Company |
New
Glarus |
WI |
45 |
Capital
Brewery Co. Inc. |
Middleton |
WI |
Top
50 'Overall Brewing Companies' Listed
by Rank and State
(based on 2006 sales)
| Rank |
Brewery
Name |
City |
State |
1 |
Anheuser-Busch
Inc. |
St
Louis |
MO |
2 |
Miller
Brewing Company |
Milwaukee |
WI |
3 |
Coors
Brewing Company |
Golden |
CO |
4 |
Pabst
Brewing Company |
Woodridge |
IL |
5 |
Boston
Beer Company |
Boston |
MA |
6 |
D.
G. Yuengling and Son Inc. |
Pottsville |
PA |
7 |
Sierra
Nevada Brewing Company |
Chico |
CA |
8 |
Gambrinus |
San
Antonio |
TX |
9 |
New
Belgium Brewing Company Inc. |
Fort
Collins |
CO |
10 |
High
Falls Brewing Company |
Rochester |
NY |
11 |
Widmer
Brothers Brewing Company |
Portland |
OR |
12 |
Redhook
Ale Brewery |
Woodinville |
WA |
13 |
Pittsburgh
Brewing Company |
Pittsburgh |
PA |
14 |
Pyramid
Breweries Inc. |
Seattle |
WA |
15 |
Minhas
Craft Brewery |
Monroe |
WI |
16 |
Matt
Brewing Company |
Utica |
NY |
17 |
Deschutes
Brewery, Inc. |
Bend |
OR |
18 |
Boulevard
Brewing Company |
Kansas
City |
MO |
19 |
Alaskan
Brewing Company |
Juneau |
AK |
20 |
The
Harpoon Brewery |
Boston |
MA |
21 |
Full
Sail Brewing Company |
Hood
River |
OR |
22 |
Anchor
Brewing Company |
San
Francisco |
CA |
23 |
Kona
Brewing Company |
Kailua-Kona |
HI |
24 |
Magic
Hat Brewing Company & Performing
Arts Center |
South
Burlington |
VT |
25 |
Gordon
Biersch Brewing Company |
San
Jose |
CA |
26 |
Bell
's Brewery, Inc. |
Galesburg |
MI |
27 |
Summit
Brewing Company |
Saint
Paul |
MN |
28 |
August
Schell Brewing Company |
New
Ulm |
MN |
29 |
Shipyard
Brewing Company LLC |
Portland |
ME |
30 |
Mendocino
Brewing Company |
Ukiah |
CA |
31 |
Goose
Island Beer Company |
Chicago |
IL |
32 |
Abita
Brewing Company |
NewOrleans |
LA |
33 |
Long
Trail Brewing Company |
Bridgewater
Corners |
VT |
34 |
The
Brooklyn Brewery |
Brooklyn |
NY |
35 |
New
Glarus Brewing Company |
New
Glarus |
WI |
36 |
Rogue
Ales |
Newport |
OR |
37 |
Stone
Brewing Company |
Escondido |
CA |
38 |
Stevens
Point Brewery Company |
Stevens
Point |
WI |
39 |
Rock
Bottom Brewery Restaurants |
Louisville |
CO |
40 |
Firestone
Walker Brewing Company |
Paso
Robles |
CA |
41 |
The
Great Lakes Brewing Company |
Cleveland |
OH |
42 |
Dogfish
Head Craft Brewery |
Lewes |
DE |
43 |
Straub
Brewery |
Saint
Mary's |
PA |
44 |
The
Lagunitas Brewing Company |
Petaluma |
CA |
45 |
Flying
Dog Brewery |
Denver |
CO |
46 |
Sweetwater
Brewing Company |
Atlanta |
GA |
47 |
Odell
Brewing |
Fort
Collins |
CO |
48 |
Mac
and Jack's Brewery Inc. |
Redmond |
WA |
49 |
Big
Sky Brewing Company |
Missoula |
MT |
50 |
Otter
Creek Brewing |
Middlebury |
VT |
(Please
visit http://www.beertown.org/craftbrewing/statistics.html
for more statistics)
The
definition of craft beer as stated by
the Brewers Association: An American craft
brewer is small, independent and traditional.
Craft beer comes only from a craft brewer.
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 brewers 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.
Based in Boulder, Colo., U.S.A., the Brewers
Association (BA) is the not-for-profit
trade and education association for American
craft brewers and the community of beer
enthusiasts. Visit the website: www.beertown.org
to learn more. The association's activities
include events and publishing: World Beer
Cup®; Great American Beer Festival®;
Craft Brewers Conference and BrewExpo
America®; National Homebrewers Conference;
National Homebrew Competition; American
Craft Beer Week (May); Zymurgy magazine;
The New Brewer magazine; and books on
beer and brewing. The Brewers Association
has an additional membership division
of 11,000+ homebrewers: American
Homebrewers Association.
