Yesterday, The Brewers Association released the figures of the Top 50 U.S. Craft Brewing Companies. (They also released the Top 50 overall, but I ain’t interested in that).
Let’s tease some of the numbers out from a California perspective:
~ Biggest in CA is Sierra Nevada at # 3
~ There are four “collectives” at 5, 6, 9 and 14
~ There are 9 California breweries on the list + Firestone Walker as part of the Duvel Moortgat Group. Most are in the 35-50 range.
Overall, there are no “Wow!” surprises on the list. Those breweries that contract for others are high as expected. If you are looking for anomalies, New Glarus at # 16 might be considered bigger than thought before. What does “pop” is when you look at the list on a map…
Those blanks spots really stand out. The population of those “blanks” is part of the reason that say neither Dakota has a pin in it. State laws play a bigger part though in populous states such as Texas and Florida.
Kudos to the association for releasing so much information.