Here’s the fastest growing brewery in the U.S. according to Untappd

Trace Smith, CEO of Next Glass, the parent company of Untappd and many other things, recently took to the company’s Insights Substack to report on the Top 25 Fastest Growing Breweries in the U.S. They sliced their data in two different ways:

1. The highest absolute growth in terms of number of check-ins between 2020 and 2022 (minimum of 500 check-ins in 2020), and
2. The highest growth rate during that time (minimum of 500 check-ins in 2020).

In terms of absolute growth, Fidens Brewing Co. in Colonie, N.Y., took first with a total increase of 105,653 check-ins — nearly doubling the number of check-ins of the second place Tripping Animals Brewing Co. of Doral, Fla., which had an increase of 55,144 check-ins.

In terms of growth rate, First State Brewing Co. in Middletown, Del., took the top spot. First State Brewing saw a whopping 3,191% increase in user check-ins on the app.

How’d they do it? Paul Hester, Founder & CEO of First State, thinks a significant pivot during the pandemic can be credited for the spike.

“We weren’t planning to start distributing until after our first year of operations, but we also weren’t planning on the world coming to a standstill either,” Hester says. “We quickly pivoted and decided to invest in packaging equipment which enabled us to start canning beer in-house and launch distribution.”

First State Brewing strategically partnered with OtherSide Beverage, a local craft-focused distributor, in 2021 to start distributing their beers throughout Delaware. First State Brewing has quickly expanded their footprint as their beer can now be found throughout Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Washington D.C., and Virginia.

Another reason for this growth? Delaware and the Mid-Atlantic’s burgeoning craft beer scene. Hester sees a “passionate and growing craft beer scene” forming in the area. Not only was First State Brewing Company sitting in the Top 25 for total increase in brewery check-ins on Untappd, industry friends Dewey Beer Company and Iron Hill Brewery were on the list as well.