The Brewers Association (BA) – the not-for-profit trade group representing small and independent craft brewers – just 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, 40 were craft brewing companies.
The BA is the national organization that represents more than 70 percent of the current 5,200 breweries in America. The BA board of directors is the body that sets the definition of a craft brewer, which is:
- 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 a beverage alcohol 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.
“With such a broad range of brewers in today’s beer landscape, the leading small and independent producers have 
helped build the craft brewing industry to what it is today,” said Bart Watson, chief economist of the BA. “Embracing their experience and ability to thrive and overcome challenges, the top producing craft brewers will continue to inspire, innovate and influence the future of beer.”
In a recent tweet, Watson noted that in 2016, 78.7% of Washington state’s breweries made just 1,000 barrels of beer or less. Even though Washington has more than 350 breweries, which is the second most in the U.S. after California, none of them cracked the Top 50. Breweries from 22 states made the list.
At this time, we do not have the list of the largest craft breweries in Washington, though it would no longer include Redhook or Elysian. Most likely, Washington’s Top 10 would include Georgetown, Mac & Jack’s, Fish, Fremont, Pike, and Hale’s Ales. Click here to see the Top 25 breweries in Washington in 2014.
Ballast Point Brewing and Lagunitas Brewing are absent from this year’s Top 50 craft breweries list because they no longer fit the BA definition of a craft brewer due to the ownership of more than 25 percent by a beverage alcohol industry member that is not itself a craft brewer. Ballast Point is now owned by Constellation Brands, while Heineken owns 50 percent stake in Lagunitas.
Top 50 Craft Brewing Companies
| Rank | Brewing Company | City | State |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | D. G. Yuengling & 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 | Duvel Moortgat | Paso Robles/Kansas City/Cooperstown | CA/MO/NY |
| 7 | Bell’s Brewery, Inc | Comstock | MI |
| 8 | Deschutes Brewery | Bend | OR |
| 9 | Stone Brewing Co | Escondido | CA |
| 10 | Oskar Blues Brewing Holding Co | Longmont | CO |
| 11 | Brooklyn Brewery | Brooklyn | NY |
| 12 | Minhas Craft Brewery | Monroe | WI |
| 13 | Artisanal Brewing Ventures | Downington/Lakewood | PA/NY |
| 14 | Dogfish Head Craft Brewery | Milton | DE |
| 15 | SweetWater Brewing Co | Atlanta | GA |
| 16 | New Glarus Brewing Co | New Glarus | WI |
| 17 | Matt Brewing Co | Utica | NY |
| 18 | Harpoon Brewery | Boston | MA |
| 19 | Alaskan Brewing | Juneau | AK |
| 20 | Abita Brewing Co | Abita Springs | LA |
| 21 | Great Lakes Brewing Co | Cleveland | OH |
| 22 | Anchor Brewing Co | San Francisco | CA |
| 23 | Stevens Point Brewery | Stevens Point | WI |
| 24 | August Schell Brewing Co | New Ulm | MN |
| 24 | Long Trail Brewing Co | Bridgewater Corners | VT |
| 26 | Summit Brewing Co | Saint Paul | MN |
| 27 | Odell Brewing Co | Fort Collins | CO |
| 28 | Shipyard Brewing Co | Portland | ME |
| 29 | Full Sail Brewing Co | Hood River | OR |
| 30 | Rogue Ales | Newport | OR |
| 31 | 21st Amendment Brewery | Bay Area | CA |
| 32 | Flying Dog Brewery | Frederick | MD |
| 33 | Ninkasi Brewing Co | Eugene | OR |
| 34 | Gordon Biersch Brewing Co | San Jose | CA |
| 35 | Allagash Brewing Co | Portland | ME |
| 36 | Narragansett Brewing Co | Providence | RI |
| 37 | Green Flash Brewing Co | San Diego | CA |
| 38 | Tröegs Brewing Co | Hershey | PA |
| 39 | Uinta Brewing Co | Salt Lake City | UT |
| 40 | Bear Republic Brewing Co | Cloverdale | CA |
| 41 | Karl Strauss Brewing Co | San Diego | CA |
| 42 | Surly Brewing Co | Minneapolis | MN |
| 43 | Sixpoint Brewery | Brooklyn | NY |
| 44 | Left Hand Brewing Co | Longmont | CO |
| 45 | Lost Coast Brewery | Eureka | CA |
| 46 | Revolution Brewing | Chicago | IL |
| 47 | North Coast Brewing Co | Fort Bragg | CA |
| 48 | Avery Brewing Co | Boulder | CO |
| 49 | Real Ale Brewing Co | Blanco | TX |
| 50 | BJ’s Brewery | Huntington Beach | CA |
Top 50 Overall Brewing Companies
| 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 & Son, Inc | Pottsville | PA |
| 5 | North American Breweries (d) | Rochester | NY |
| 6 | Boston Beer Co (e) | Boston | MA |
| 7 | Sierra Nevada Brewing Co | Chico | CA |
| 8 | New Belgium Brewing Co | Fort Collins | CO |
| 9 | Lagunitas Brewing Co (f) | Petaluma | CA |
| 10 | Craft Brew Alliance (g) | Portland | OR |
| 11 | Gambrinus (h) | San Antonio | TX |
| 12 | Duvel Moortgat (i) | Paso Robles/Kansas City/Cooperstown | CA/MO/NY |
| 13 | Ballast Point Brewing Co (j) | San Diego | CA |
| 14 | Bell’s Brewery, Inc (k) | Comstock | MI |
| 15 | Deschutes Brewery | Bend | OR |
| 16 | Founders Brewing Co (l) | Grand Rapids | MI |
| 17 | Stone Brewing Co | Escondido | CA |
| 18 | Oskar Blues Brewing Holding Co (m) | Longmont | CO |
| 19 | Sapporo USA (n) | La Crosse | WI |
| 20 | Brooklyn Brewery | Brooklyn | NY |
| 21 | Minhas Craft Brewery (o) | Monroe | WI |
| 22 | Artisanal Brewing Ventures (p) | Downington/Lakewood | PA/NY |
| 23 | Dogfish Head Craft Brewery | Milton | DE |
| 24 | SweetWater Brewing Co | Atlanta | GA |
| 25 | New Glarus Brewing Co | New Glarus | WI |
| 26 | Matt Brewing Co (q) | Utica | NY |
| 27 | Harpoon Brewery | Boston | MA |
| 28 | Alaskan Brewing Co | Juneau | AK |
| 29 | Abita Brewing Co | Abita Springs | LA |
| 30 | Great Lakes Brewing Co | Cleveland | OH |
| 31 | Anchor Brewing Co | San Francisco | CA |
| 32 | Stevens Point Brewery (r) | Stevens Point | WI |
| 33 | August Schell Brewing Co (s) | New Ulm | MN |
| 33 | Long Trail Brewing Co (t) | Bridgewater Corners | VT |
| 35 | Summit Brewing Co | Saint Paul | MN |
| 36 | Odell Brewing Co | Fort Collins | CO |
| 37 | Shipyard Brewing Co (u) | Portland | ME |
| 38 | Full Sail Brewing Co | Hood River | OR |
| 39 | Rogue Ales | Newport | OR |
| 40 | 21st Amendment Brewery | Bay Area | CA |
| 41 | Flying Dog Brewery | Frederick | MD |
| 42 | Ninkasi Brewing Co | Eugene | OR |
| 43 | Gordon Biersch Brewing Co | San Jose | CA |
| 44 | Allagash Brewing Co | Portland | ME |
| 45 | Narragansett Brewing Co | Providence | RI |
| 46 | Green Flash Brewing Co (v) | San Diego | CA |
| 47 | Tröegs Brewing Co | Hershey | PA |
| 48 | Uinta Brewing Co | Salt Lake City | UT |
| 49 | Bear Republic Brewing Co | Cloverdale | CA |
| 50 | Pittsburgh Brewing Co (w) | Pittsburgh | PA |
(Bolded = Small and independent craft brewer. )
