The top 50 biggest craft breweries in America in 2021 by sales volume

Yesterday, the Brewers Association (BA) — the trade association representing small and independent American craft brewers (defined here) — released annual production figures for the U.S. craft brewing industry.² In 2021, small and independent brewers collectively produced 24.8 million barrels of beer and realized 8 percent growth³, increasing craft’s overall beer market share by volume to 13.1 percent, up from 12.2 percent the previous year.

The overall beer market* grew 1 percent by volume in 2021. Retail dollar value was estimated at $26.9 billion, representing 26.8 percent market share and 21 percent growth over 2020. This growth is stronger than volume primarily due to the channel shift back to on-premise, which has a higher average retail value. Craft brewers provided more than 172,643 direct jobs, a 25 percent increase from 2020.

“Craft brewer sales rebounded in 2021, lifted by the return of draught and at-the-brewery traffic,” said Bart Watson, chief economist, Brewers Association. “However, the mixed performance across business models and geographies as well as production levels that still lag 2019 suggest that many breweries remain in recovery mode. Add in continuing supply chain and pricing challenges, and 2022 will be a critical year for many brewers.”

The number of operating craft breweries continued to climb in 2021, reaching an all-time high of 9,118, including 1,886 microbreweries, 3,307 brewpubs, 3,702 taproom breweries, and 223 regional craft breweries. The total operating brewery count was 9,247, up from 9,025 in 2020. Throughout the year, there were 646 new brewery openings and 178 closings. Openings decreased for a second consecutive year, with the continued decline reflecting a more mature market. Ongoing pandemic challenges and rising interest rates were additional factors. The closing rate also declined in 2021, likely helped by a combination of better sales numbers and additional government relief through the Restaurant Revitalization Fund, which was available to some brewpub and taproom brewers.

“While the boom in breweries of a few years before has certainly slowed, the continued growth in small breweries shows the solid foundation of demand for their businesses and beers,” added Watson.

In addition, the Brewers Association also released its annual list of the top 50 producing craft brewing companies and overall brewing companies in the United States, based on beer sales volume. Of the top 50 overall brewing companies in 2021, 40 were small and independent craft brewing companies.⁴

View and download map of top 50 producing craft brewing companies

Top 50 Craft Brewing Companies

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	Berkeley, Shiner	CA, TX
6	Bell’s Brewery, Inc	Comstock	MI
7	CANarchy	Longmont, Tampa, Salt Lake City, Comstock, Dallas	CO, FL, UT, MI, TX
8	Artisanal Brewing Ventures	Downingtown, Lakewood, Brooklyn	PA, NY, NY
9	Stone Brewing	Escondido	CA
10	SweetWater Brewing Co	Atlanta	GA
11	Deschutes Brewery	Bend	OR
12	New Glarus Brewing Co	New Glarus	WI
13	Brooklyn Brewery	Brooklyn	NY
14	Matt Brewing Co	Utica	NY
15	Gordon Biersch Brewing Co	San Jose	CA
16	Abita Brewing Co	Covington	LA
17	Minhas Craft Brewery	Monroe	WI
18	Stevens Point Brewery	Stevens Point	WI
19	Great Lakes Brewing Company	Cleveland	OH
20	Odell Brewing Co	Fort Collins	CO
21	Harpoon Brewery	Boston	MA
22	Summit Brewing Co	Saint Paul	MN
23	Allagash Brewing Company	Portland	ME
24	Troegs Brewing Co	Hershey	PA
25	Georgetown Brewing Co	Seattle	WA
26	Three Floyds Brewing	Munster	IN
27	Athletic Brewing Company	Stratford	CT
28	Rhinegeist Brewery	Cincinnati	OH
29	Kona Brewing Co	Kailua-Kona	HI
30	August Schell Brewing Company	New Ulm	MN
31	Alaskan Brewing Co	Juneau	AK
32	Narragansett Brewing Co	Pawtucket	RI
33	Rogue Ales Brewery	Newport	OR
34	Kings & Convicts Brewing/Ballast Point	San Diego	CA
35	Flying Dog Brewery	Frederick	MD
36	Long Trail Brewing Co	Bridgewater Corners	VT
37	Lost Coast Brewery	Eureka	CA
38	Revolution Brewing	Chicago	IL
39	Surly Brewing Company	Minneapolis	MN
40	Ninkasi Brewing Co	Eugene	OR
41	Creature Comforts Brewing Co	Athens	GA
42	21st Amendment Brewery	Bay Area	CA
43	Maui Brewing Co	Kihei	HI
44	Saint Arnold Brewing Co	Houston	TX
45	Scofflaw Brewing Co	Atlanta	GA
46	Shipyard Brewing Co	Portland	ME
47	Left Hand Brewing Company	Longmont	CO
48	Modern Times Drinks	San Diego	CA
49	Fiddlehead Brewing	Shelburne	VT
50	North Coast Brewing Co Inc	Fort Bragg	CA

Top 50 Overall Brewing Companies

Rank	Company	City	State
1	Anheuser-Busch Inc (a)	St. Louis	MO
2	MolsonCoors (b)	Chicago	IL
3	Constellation (c)	Chicago	IL
4	Heineken USA (d)	White Plains	NY
5	Pabst Brewing Co (e)	Los Angeles	CA
6	Diageo (f)	Norwalk	CT
7	D. G. Yuengling and Son Inc	Pottsville	PA
8	FIFCO USA (g)	Rochester	NY
9	Boston Beer Co (h)	Boston, Milton	MA, DE
10	Sierra Nevada Brewing Co	Chico	CA
11	New Belgium Brewing Co / Kirin (i)	Fort Collins, San Francisco	CO, CA
12	Duvel Moortgat USA (j)	Paso Robles, Kansas City, Cooperstown	CA, MO, NY
13	Founders Brewing / Mahou San Miguel (k)	Grand Rapids, Boulder	MI, CO
14	Gambrinus (l)	Berkeley, Shiner	CA, TX
15	Bell’s Brewery, Inc (m)	Comstock	MI
16	CANarchy (n)	Longmont, Tampa, Salt Lake City, Comstock, Dallas	CO, FL, UT, MI, TX
17	Artisanal Brewing Ventures (o)	Downingtown, Lakewood, Brooklyn	PA, NY, NY
18	Stone Brewing	Escondido	CA
19	SweetWater Brewing Co (p)	Atlanta	GA
20	Deschutes Brewery	Bend	OR
21	New Glarus Brewing Co	New Glarus	WI
22	Brooklyn Brewery	Brooklyn	NY
23	Matt Brewing Co (q)	Utica	NY
24	Gordon Biersch Brewing Co	San Jose	CA
25	Abita Brewing Co	Covington	LA
26	Minhas Craft Brewery (r)	Monroe	WI
27	Stevens Point Brewery (s)	Stevens Point	WI
28	Great Lakes Brewing Company	Cleveland	OH
29	Odell Brewing Co	Fort Collins	CO
30	Harpoon Brewery	Boston	MA
31	Summit Brewing Co	Saint Paul	MN
32	Allagash Brewing Company	Portland	ME
33	Troegs Brewing Co	Hershey	PA
34	Georgetown Brewing Co	Seattle	WA
35	Three Floyds Brewing (t)	Munster	IN
36	Athletic Brewing Company	Stratford	CT
37	Rhinegeist Brewery	Cincinnati	OH
38	Kona Brewing Co	Kailua-Kona	HI
39	August Schell Brewing Company (u)	New Ulm	MN
40	Alaskan Brewing Co	Juneau	AK
41	Narragansett Brewing Co	Pawtucket	RI
42	Rogue Ales Brewery	Newport	OR
43	Kings & Convicts Brewing/Ballast Point	San Diego	CA
44	Flying Dog Brewery	Frederick	MD
45	Long Trail Brewing Co	Bridgewater Corners	VT
46	Lost Coast Brewery	Eureka	CA
47	Anchor Brewing Co / Sapporo USA (v)	Tarrytown, San Francisco	NY, CA
48	Revolution Brewing	Chicago	IL
49	Surly Brewing Company	Minneapolis	MN
50	Ninkasi Brewing Co	Eugene	OR

Note: Numbers are preliminary. For additional insights from Bart Watson, visit Insights & Analysis on the Brewers Association website. The full 2021 industry analysis will be published in the May/June 2022 issue of The New Brewer, highlighting regional trends and production by individual breweries.

* Does not include FMBs/FSBs. With those included, total taxed-as-beer products increased 2%.

¹ An American craft brewer is a small and independent brewer. Small: Annual production of 6 million barrels of beer or less (approximately 3% of U.S. annual sales). Beer production is attributed to the rules of alternating proprietorships. Independent: Less than 25% of the craft brewery is owned or controlled (or equivalent economic interest) by an alcoholic beverage industry member that is not itself a craft brewer. Brewer: Has a TTB Brewer’s Notice and makes beer.

² Absolute figures reflect the dynamic craft brewer data set as specified by the craft brewer definition. Growth numbers are presented on a comparable basis. See full methodology.

³ Volume by craft brewers represents total taxable production.

⁴ Figure based on companies that met the craft brewer definition for all or part of 2021.