I present to you my top 50 breweries of 2010 by production. [Ed. Note: This is NOT a top 50 list of the “best” breweries.]

Below is the result of weeks of research and communication with breweries about 2010 production. I make no claims to 100% accuracy as there are estimates (both from myself and the breweries themselves) included in the determination of these rankings.



Some caveats and assumptions:

Because it is very challenging to get information on a specific brewery/brand basis for the top producers like AB-Inbev, MillerCoors and North American Breweries, these breweries are held out of the small brewery rankings for the most part Genesee and Leinenkugel’s are two glaring omissions that come to mind. Because Magic Hat and Pyramid data was available through 2009, it was easy enough to project 2010 production so I’ve included them.

Some breweries in this list contract beer for others. Some of that contract production may be included or excluded depending on the brewery. If I do this again, I will be more conscious of that.

I have cut the list off at the top 50 because I question the accuracy/data a bit after that. There are other breweries that produced more than 30,000 barrels that fall below the top 50.

Both lists include breweries that are not considered, by definition, “craft” breweries.

Where the production of two breweries is close and an estimate is present, I have made it a tie between the two breweries.

The top dozen or so beer vendors included in the top list are largely ranked based on Symphony IRI data.

More analysis will come later this week or next week.

Update: After receiving a tip, I contacted Blue Point Brewing and learned that they had 30%+ growth last year, moving up past 40k barrels. I’ve adjusted the lists to reflect this change so they now go to 51.

Update II: After a couple discussions, I can’t help but wonder whether I am leaving out some contract brewers like City Brewing, Cold Spring Brewery, etc. Again, do not take these lists as gospel though I stand by them as a fairly accurate first attempt.

The Top 50 Brewing Companies/Beer Vendors of 2010 1. Anheuser-Busch InBev

2. MillerCoors Brewing

3. Crown Imports (Corona, St. Pauli, etc.)

4. Heineken USA Inc.

5. Pabst Brewing

6. North American Breweries (Genesee, Independent Brewers United, etc.

7. Diageo USA

8. Boston Beer Co.

8. D.G. Yuengling & Son

10. Mark Anthony Brands (Mike’s Hard, Peroni, etc.)

11. Phusion Projects (Four Loko)

12. Sierra Nevada Brewing

13. New Belgium Brewing

14. Craft Brewers Alliance (Redhook, Widmer, Kona)

15. Gambrinus Company (Spoetzl, BridgePort, Pete’s)

16. Minhas Craft Brewery

17. Deschutes Brewery

18. F.X. Matt Brewing

19. Bell’s Brewery

20. Boulevard Brewing

21. Harpoon Brewery

22. Goose Island Beer Company

23. Dogfish Head Craft Brewery

24. Alaskan Brewing

24. Long Trail/Otter Creek Brewing

26. August Schell Brewing

27. Stone Brewing

28. Gordon Biersch Brewing

28. Abita Brewing

30. Brooklyn Brewery

31. Lagunitas Brewing

32. Full Sail Brewing

33. Shipyard Brewing

34. Summit Brewing

35. Great Lakes Brewing

35. New Glarus Brewing

37. Anchor Brewers and Distillers

38. CraftWorks Restaurants and Breweries, Inc. (Rock Bottom, GB Restaurants, etc.)

39. Rogue Ales

40. Firestone Walker Brewing

41. SweetWater Brewing

42. Flying Dog Brewery

43. Mendocino Brewing

44. Victory Brewing

45. Lost Coast Brewery

46. Odell Brewing

47. BridgePort Brewing

48. BJ’s Restaurant and Brewery

49. Straub Brewery

50. Blue Point Brewing

51. Oskar Blues Brewery