On Tuesday, the Brewers Association (BA) released its annual overview of the craft brewing industry and a list of the 50 top-producing craft brewing companies of 2023.
Last year, the number of U.S. craft breweries reached an all-time high, with 9,683 operational across all 50 states and Washington D.C. That figure included 2,071 microbreweries, 3,467 brewpubs, 3,900 taproom breweries, and 245 regional craft breweries. But for the second year in a row, new brewery openings decreased, with just 495 opening their doors in 2023 — down from approximately 550 in 2022. The closing rate also increased year-over-year, but the BA doesn’t seem concerned, referring to the 4-percent rate as “relatively low.”
As a whole, small and independent craft brewers produced 23.4 million barrels of beer in 2023, a one percent decline year-over-year. On the bright side, craft beer’s overall market share grew to 13.3 percent in terms of volume, up 0.2 percent from 2022. The craft brewing sect of the industry also fared better than the overall beer industry, which saw volume shrink by 5.1 percent year-over-year. And yet, retail value increased by 3 percent, with the market valued at approximately $28.6 billion.
“2023 was another competitive and challenging year for small and independent brewers,” said Bart Watson, vice president of strategy and chief economist of the BA, in a press release. “Nevertheless, even as growth has downshifted, small brewers have proved quite resilient, as seen in the increase in number of breweries, relatively low closing rates, and gains in onsite sales and jobs.”
Of the 50 top-producing breweries overall in the U.S., which the BA ranks in terms of beer sales and volume, 40 are small and independent craft brewing companies.
“While distribution is as competitive as ever, we continue to see success stories and pockets of growth across the top 50 list,” Watson explained. “Even in an era of slow growth, the strongest brands still resonate with beer drinkers, regardless of company size or location.”
Check out the full list of the 50 top-producing craft breweries and a map of their locations below.
| Rank | Company | City | State |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | D. G. Yuengling and Son Inc | Pottsville | PA |
| 2 | Boston Beer Co | Boston, Milton | MA, DE |
| 3 | Sierra Nevada Brewing Co | Chico | CA |
| 4 | Duvel Moortgat USA | Paso Robles, Kansas City, Cooperstown | CA, MO, NY |
| 5 | Gambrinus | Shiner, Berkeley | TX, CA |
| 6 | Tilray Beer Brands | Atlanta, Montauk, San Diego, Bend, Seattle, Portland, Breckenridge, Patchogue | GA, NY, CA, OR, WA, OR, CO, NY |
| 7 | Artisanal Brewing Ventures | Downingtown, Lakewood, Brooklyn | PA, NY, NY |
| 8 | Brooklyn Brewery | Brooklyn | NY |
| 9 | Monster Brewing | Longmont, Tampa, Salt Lake City, Comstock, Dallas | CO, FL, UT, MI, TX |
| 10 | Athletic Brewing Company | Milford | CT |
| 11 | New Glarus Brewing Co | New Glarus | WI |
| 12 | Deschutes Brewery | Bend | OR |
| 13 | Matt Brewing Co | Utica | NY |
| 14 | Gordon Biersch Brewing Co | San Jose | CA |
| 15 | Allagash Brewing Company | Portland | ME |
| 16 | Georgetown Brewing Co | Seattle | WA |
| 17 | Great Lakes Brewing Company | Cleveland | OH |
| 18 | Harpoon Brewery | Boston | MA |
| 19 | Stevens Point Brewery | Stevens Point | WI |
| 20 | Three Floyds Brewing | Munster | IN |
| 21 | Pittsburgh Brewing Co | Pittsburgh | PA |
| 22 | Rhinegeist Brewery | Cincinnati | OH |
| 23 | Narragansett Brewing Co | Pawtucket | RI |
| 24 | August Schell Brewing Company | New Ulm | MN |
| 25 | Odell Brewing Co | Fort Collins | CO |
| 26 | Craft ‘Ohana (Maui/Modern Times) | Kihei, San Diego | HI, CA |
| 27 | Troegs Brewing Co | Hershey | PA |
| 28 | Fiddlehead Brewing | Shelburne | VT |
| 29 | Minhas Craft Brewery | Monroe | WI |
| 30 | Kings & Convicts Brewing | San Diego | CA |
| 31 | Alaskan Brewing Co | Juneau | AK |
| 32 | Kona Brewing Hawaii | Kailua-Kona | HI |
| 33 | Abita Brewing Co | Covington | LA |
| 34 | Creature Comforts Brewing Co. | Athens | GA |
| 35 | Great Frontier Holdings | Eugene, Portland | OR, OR |
| 36 | BrewDog Brewing Co | Canal Winchester | OH |
| 37 | Summit Brewing Co | St. Paul | MN |
| 38 | Jack’s Abby Brewing, LLC | Framingham | MA |
| 39 | Revolution Brewing | Chicago | IL |
| 40 | Montucky Cold Snacks | Bozeman | MT |
| 41 | Saint Arnold Brewing Co | Houston | TX |
| 42 | Lost Coast Brewery | Eureka | CA |
| 43 | Surly Brewing Company | Minneapolis | MN |
| 44 | Rogue Ales Brewery | Newport | OR |
| 45 | United States Beverage LLC | Salt Lake City, Elmsford | UT, NY |
| 46 | Shipyard Brewing Co | Portland | ME |
| 47 | Pizza Port | Carlsbad | CA |
| 48 | Coronado Brewing Co | Coronado | CA |
| 49 | Drake’s Brewing Co | San Leandro | CA |
| 50 | IndieBrew | Atlanta, Nashville | GA, TN |
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