2017’s Top 50 Breweries – Big Beer Winners And Craft Beer Losers

The Brewers Association recently released its annual lists of the top 50 craft brewing companies and the overall brewing companies in the US, which includes big beer companies like Anheuser-Busch.

And while we covered the ‘craft beer only” ranking extensively…There were some major shakeups on the Overall Top 50 as well.

AB InBev’s Anheuser-Busch remained America’s leading brewery in 2017’s Overall Top 50 ranking commanding 43% of the US beer market followed by MillerCoors out of Chicago who 25%  of the nation’s beer action, but they weren’t the only victors.

Winners

Three significant players entered the Brewers Association’s Overall Top 50 ranking in 2017 the biggest being Constellation Brands who appeared on the list for the first time at #3.

Constellation Brands, a Fortune 500 company, is an international producer and marketer of beer, wine and spirits. Fueled on the success of its Grupo Modelo Group (Corona, Modelo Especial, Negra Modelo, Pacífico), Constellation has become the largest beer import company in the world. But what made the Victor, NY-based company eligible for the BA’s 2017 ranking was its joint holdings in domestic brands Ballast Point and Funky Buddha.

Heineken was also a “first-time entry on the list of biggest US brewers even though it is the world’s second-largest brewer in 2017,” according to The Motley Fool. But last year Heineken acquired the remaining 50% piece of Lagunitas Brewing that it didn’t already own, which secured them a place on the Brewers Associations list.

Diageo was another prominent newbie to the list coming in at #8. And although it has owned several well-known beer brands for years (Guinness and Harp being the most notable). But Guinness now has a US brewery now producing beers in Maryland which is why they were entered into the BA’s ranking.

Losers

As much as we appreciate Boston Beer and the craft beer legacy they’ve pioneered, the decline of their Samuel Adams brand now seems as inescapable as it may be unstoppable.

From 2009 through 2015 Boston Beer was the nation’s fifth largest brewer, but they fell to sixth in 2016. And although they remain the second largest craft brewer behind D.G. Yuengling & Sons in 2017’s Overall Brewery Top 50 ranking they’ve now plummeted to ninth.

And the fact that Boston Beer has been relying upon niche products like hard teas and seltzer to drive its growth is not a good sign.

Top 50 Overall Brewing Companies

Rank	Brewery Name	City	State
Bold = small and independent craft brewery
1	Anheuser-Busch, Inc (a)	Saint Louis	MO
2	MillerCoors (b)	Chicago	IL
3	Constellation (c)	Chicago	IL
4	Heineken (d)	White Plains	NY
5	Pabst Brewing Co (e)	Los Angeles	CA
6	D. G. Yuengling & Son, Inc	Pottsville	PA
7	North American Breweries (f)	Rochester	NY
8	Diageo (g)	Norwalk	CT
9	Boston Beer Co (h)	Boston	MA
10	Sierra Nevada Brewing Co	Chico	CA
11	New Belgium Brewing Co (i)	Fort Collins	CO
12	Craft Brew Alliance (j)	Portland	OR
13	Duvel Moortgat (k)	Paso Robles/Kansas City/Cooperstown	CA/MO/NY
14	Gambrinus (l)	San Antonio/Berkeley/Portland	TX/CA/OR
15	Founders Brewing Co (m)	Grand Rapids	MI
16	Bell’s Brewery, Inc (n)	Comstock	MI
17	Sapporo USA (o)	La Crosse	WI
18	Stone Brewing Co	Escondido	CA
19	CANarchy (p)	Longmont/Tampa/Salt Lake City/Comstock Park	CO/FL/UT/MI
20	Deschutes Brewery	Bend	OR
21	Brooklyn Brewery	Brooklyn	NY
22	Dogfish Head Craft Brewery	Milton	DE
23	Minhas Craft Brewery (q)	Monroe	WI
24	Artisanal Brewing Ventures (r)	Downingtown/Lakewood	PA/NY
25	SweetWater Brewing Co	Atlanta	GA
26	New Glarus Brewing Co	New Glarus	WI
27	Matt Brewing Co (s)	Utica	NY
28	Harpoon Brewery	Boston	MA
29	Alaskan Brewing	Juneau	AK
30	Great Lakes Brewing Co	Cleveland	OH
31	Abita Brewing Co	Abita Springs	LA
32	Odell Brewing Co	Fort Collins	CO
33	Stevens Point Brewery (t)	Stevens Point	WI
34	August Schell Brewing Co (u)	New Ulm	MN
35	Summit Brewing Co	Saint Paul	MN
36	21st Amendment Brewery	Bay Area	CA
37	Shipyard Brewing Co (v)	Portland	ME
38	Flying Dog Brewery	Frederick	MD
39	Full Sail Brewing Co	Hood River	OR
40	Troëgs Brewing Co	Hershey	PA
41	Long Trail Brewing Co (w)	Bridgewater Corners	VT
42	Rogue Ales	Newport	OR
43	Rhinegeist Brewery	Cincinnati	OH
44	Narragansett Brewing Co	Providence	RI
45	Gordon Biersch Brewing Co	San Jose	CA
46	Allagash Brewing Co	Portland	ME
47	Uinta Brewing Co	Salt Lake City	UT
48	Ninkasi Brewing Co	Eugene	OR
49	Surly Brewing Company	Minneapolis	MN
50	Revolution Brewing	Chicago	IL