Boston Beer loses craft top spot to Yuengling
Who is the biggest U.S. craft brewer? Well, Boston Beer ain’t any longer. Although the maker of Samuel Adams beers actually increased volumes by 20 percent in 2014, it lost the top spot in the Brewers Association’s ranking to Yuengling, thanks to a change in the trade group’s definition of what can be considered a craft brewery.
Last year, the Brewers Association tweaked its criteria. A “traditional” brewer can now use adjuncts such as corn, rice and syrups.
The privately-owned Yuengling & Son of Pottsville, Pennsylvania, the nation’s oldest brewery (founded in 1829), uses corn, so previously it wasn’t considered in the annual list. Now, it’s on top, based on sales volume, surpassing Boston Beer, which sold 4.1 million barrels in 2014. (Some of that is cider and other malt beverages that the association doesn’t count.)
The association didn’t release actual production volumes, but both breweries fit the criterion of a "small" brewery as one that produces up to 6 million barrels beer a year.
The top 20 U.S. craft breweries in 2014:
1) D. G. Yuengling and Son, Inc. (Pottsville, Pa.)
2) Boston Beer Co. (Boston)
3) Sierra Nevada Brewing Co (Chico, Calif.)
4) New Belgium Brewing Co. (Fort Collins, Colo.)
5) Gambrinus (Shiner, Texas)
6) Lagunitas Brewing Co. (Petaluma, Calif.)
7) Bell’s Brewery, Inc. (Galesburg, Mich.)
8) Deschutes Brewery (Bend, Ore.)
9) Stone Brewing Co. (Escondido, Calif.)
10) Minhas Craft Brewery (Monroe, Wis.)
11) Brooklyn Brewery (Brooklyn, N.Y.)
12) Duvel Moortgat USA (Kansas City, Mo. & Cooperstown, N.Y.)
13) Dogfish Head Craft Brewery (Milton, Del.)
14) Matt Brewing Co. (Utica, N.Y.)
15) Harpoon Brewery (Boston)
16) Firestone Walker Brewing Co. (Paso Robles, Calif.)
17) Founders Brewing Co. (Grand Rapids, Mich.)
18) SweetWater Brewing Co (Atlanta)
19) New Glarus Brewing Co. (New Glarus, Wis.)
20) Alaskan Brewing Co. (Juneau, Alaska)
For the complete list, please go to the Brewers Association website at www.brewersassociation.org.
