Top 50 Breweries of 2008
April 14, 2009
The Brewers Association of America has released the top 50 breweries in 2008. Bell’s made the list coming in close to the top at #13. Go Michigan beer!
Top 50 craft brewing companies by beer sales volume (based on 2008 sales)
1 Boston Beer Co. Boston MA
2 Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. Chico CA
3 New Belgium Brewing Co. Fort Collins CO
4 Spoetzl Brewery Shiner TX
5 Pyramid Breweries Inc. Seattle WA
6 Deschutes Brewery Bend OR
7 Matt Brewing Co. Utica NY
8 Boulevard Brewing Co. Kansas City MO
9 Full Sail Brewing Co. Hood River OR
10 Magic Hat Brewing Co. Burlington VT
11 Alaskan Brewing Co. Juneau AK
12 Harpoon Brewery Boston MA
13 Bell’s Brewery, Inc. Galesburg MI
14 Kona Brewing Co. Kailua-Kona HI
15 Anchor Brewing Co. San Francisco CA
16 Shipyard Brewing Co. Portland ME
17 Summit Brewing Co. Saint Paul MN
18 Stone Brewing Co. Escondido CA
19 Abita Brewing Co. Abita Springs LA
20 The Brooklyn Brewery Brooklyn NY
21 New Glarus Brewing Co. New Glarus WI
22 Dogfish Head Craft Brewery Milton DE
23 Long Trail Brewing Co. Bridgewater Corners VT
24 Gordon Biersch Brewing Co. San Jose CA
25 Rogue Ales/Oregon Brewing Co. Newport OR
26 Great Lakes Brewing Co. Cleveland OH
27 The Lagunitas Brewing Co. Petaluma CA
28 Firestone Walker Brewing Co. Paso Robles CA
29 SweetWater Brewing Co. Atlanta GA
30 Flying Dog Brewing Co. Frederick MD
31 BJ’s Restaurant & Brewery Huntington Beach CA
32 Rock Bottom Brewery Restaurants Louisville CO
33 BridgePort Brewing Co. Portland OR
34 Odell Brewing Co. Fort Collins CO
35 Victory Brewing Co. Downingtown PA
36 Mac and Jack’s Brewery Redmond WA
37 Big Sky Brewing Co. Missoula MT
38 Gordon Biersch Brewery Restaurants Chattanooga TN
39 Karl Strauss Brewing Co. San Diego CA
40 Breckenridge Brewery Denver CO
41 Lost Coast Brewery and Cafe Eureka CA
42 Otter Creek Brewing Co. Middlebury VT
43 Utah Brewers Cooperative Salt Lake City UT
44 North Coast Brewing Co. Fort Bragg CA
45 Blue Point Brewing Co. Patchogue NY
46 Boulder Beer Co. Boulder CO
47 Pete’s Brewing Co. San Antonio TX
48 McMenamins Breweries Portland OR
49 Anderson Valley Brewing Co. Boonville CA
50 The Saint Louis Brewery, Inc. St Louis MO
Click here to read more – including the overall brewing companies sales by volume top 50.
Posted in Beer News
April 14th, 2009 at 8:27 am
I should also add, Michigan is #15 in the “Breweries per capita” list. Michigan has 70 breweries – Breweries per capita – 142,906. Cool eh?
http://www.beertown.org/craftbrewing/pdf/breweries_percap.pdf
April 14th, 2009 at 8:48 am
Nice list, I’m a big fan of Stone Brewing Co. out in SD!
April 14th, 2009 at 11:08 am
Interesting that Goose Island is no longer considered a craft brewer.
April 15th, 2009 at 12:13 am
Interesting to note that Bells is #13. All other breweries in Michigan COMBINED sell around the same volume as Bells. The potential of selling more Michigan beer is fantastic!
April 20th, 2009 at 12:53 pm
Dave-
GI isn’t considered craft because AB-InBev has a partial ownership interest in it. There’s been a lot of debate about this definition, and I don’t personally agree with it, but it is what it is.
On a side note, while it’s cool that Bell’s is #13 by volume sold, what impresses me the most about the Michigan brewing scene is the total number of really good craft breweries you find throughout the state. Breweries like Short’s and Dark Horse may not sell enough to make the list, but they make some great beers!
April 22nd, 2009 at 8:08 pm
what???? Founders didn’t make the list? … oh well … after drinking a Centennial IPA and Porter this weekend I guess I’ve just recently become a big Founders fan. Interesting list, I’ve seen a lot of these names before, but have not branched out yet … now maybe I will!
April 23rd, 2009 at 12:19 pm
I am trying to my hardest to get Founders and or New Holland on that list but I’m only one man.