10 largest craft brewers

I'm surprised Stone isn't on there. They must be creeping up on Harpoon fairly quickly. Wikipedia pegs their 2008 estimated production at 88,000 barrels and I bet they have grown at a pretty fast clip over the last two years.

very informative thank you for the post.

Shiner Bock doesn't count as a craft brew to me, but OK. Interesting. I've never even heard of Boulevard.

matt brewing? never heard of em,

SteveM said:

Shiner Bock doesn't count as a craft brew to me, but OK. Interesting. I've never even heard of Boulevard.

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they produce some great beers. worth seeking out. not sure what kind of styles you like but they make two great saisons, the brettanomyces and tank 7.

Ive only heard of 5 of the breweries listed theres a few that dont strike me as craft brew...but interesting article
I personaly dont know how boulevard stays in business, I dont like a single one of their beers (thats MY opinion)

I don't mind Shiner Bock - I just don't think of it as a craft brewer. If Spoetzl is a craft brewer, then so is Yeungling (my opinion).

More of my opinion - Matt is not really a craft brewer either (again, my opinion). Same class as Spoetzl and Yeungling - regionals.

Thanks for sharing.

I will second the opinion that Boulevard is very overrated. Again my opinion, but after heading to MO for a wedding last year and sampling everything they had I thought it sucked.

I also am surprised Stone hasn't eclipsed #10 yet.

iparks81 said:

Ive only heard of 5 of the breweries listed theres a few that dont strike me as craft brew...but interesting article
I personaly dont know how boulevard stays in business, I dont like a single one of their beers (thats MY opinion)

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No love for my local brewery? Curious as to what beers you've had from BLVD. On top of the regular offerings they make some great seasonals, and their Smokestack series is amazing!

It's kind of sad that Boston Beer Co. is the largest American-owned brewing company and only has what, something like 7% market cap?

I mean, good for them. But crappy for American beers.

I_B_Mongo said:

No love for my local brewery? Curious as to what beers you've had from BLVD. On top of the regular offerings they make some great seasonals, and their Smokestack series is amazing!

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Sorry to talk lowly of their brew, I honesly havnt had any of their seasonals. but from what I had when I lived in the midwest, it left a bit to be desired
as I said it's MY opinion. No offence.

iparks81 said:

Sorry to talk lowly of their brew, I honesly havnt had any of their seasonals. but from what I had when I lived in the midwest, it left a bit to be desired
as I said it's MY opinion. No offence.

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To be fair, I was pretty unimpressed after trying their mix pack. It wasn't until I had the smokestack series and some of the seasonal wheats and saisons that I really started to like Boulevard.

iparks81 said:

Sorry to talk lowly of their brew, I honesly havnt had any of their seasonals. but from what I had when I lived in the midwest, it left a bit to be desired
as I said it's MY opinion. No offence.

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No offence taken. Everybody is free to have their own opinions, now matter how wrong it may be.

I'm not big on their most popular beer (Unfiltered Wheat) but not a wheat fan to begin with. But really like the pa, ipa, and porter.
As far as their seasonals go, they've got bob's 47 (oktoberfest)nut cracker (winter warmer) and irish ale that are all great! And they have an awesome Smokestack line up: IIPA, Tripel, Quad, Saison; as well as limited edition features, such as a bourbon barrel aged quad aged on cherries, saison w/ Brett, imperial stout, dopplebock, rye ale aged in rye whiskey barrels, and a wheat wine.

Please try a few of these before you judge Boulevard again. You may just find something you love!

I gotta throw some love out to Boulevard. I've traded for beers from everywhere and while there are some very good breweries, I've got a goldmine in my own backyard. Boulevard has an amazing line-up with their smokestack beers. Their regular line-up is pretty good too. I cut my teeth on Boulevard wheat and Bully Porter...that's what got me into craft brews. They're only downfall (depending on how you look at it) is that they make enough beer for people to actually try it, unlike some breweries who inflate their popularity by brewing incredibly small quantities and then hyping the hell out of it.

Matt brewing produces the greatness that is Saranac out of Utica, NY. Best I have ever had. (That's what she said)

I too am very unimpressed with boulevard. I think, however, that they are doing the work in the midwest that they have to do. Palettes there aren't ready or some big pacnw hoppy beers. They're right in the middle of budweiserland. So they tone it down and they bring people over slow. Personally I liked their bourbon barrel quad though.

iparks81 said:

I personaly dont know how boulevard stays in business, I dont like a single one of their beers (thats MY opinion)

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Their Smokestack series is incredible. Well at least the Brett Saison and the Tripel. I've never had their regular lineup, but the smokestack series is top notch IMO.

It's pretty debatable that Boston Beer Co. is still a craft brewer at close to 2 million barrels a year.

JetSmooth said:

It's kind of sad that Boston Beer Co. is the largest American-owned brewing company and only has what, something like 7% market cap?

I mean, good for them. But crappy for American beers.

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According to this they are less than 1% of the market share. Not sure if that is by volume or what. I don't think most people drink beer for the taste. They want something cheap that gives them a buzz.

wacko said:

I think, however, that they are doing the work in the midwest that they have to do. Palettes there aren't ready or some big pacnw hoppy beers. They're right in the middle of budweiserland. So they tone it down and they bring people over slow.

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Ok, I'll preface this with my love for the big beers we brew here in the nw, but <begin rant> I feel that beers like Shiner (got to give them a shout out since they were my first venture away from the bud when I lived in TX) and boulevard (I used to live near Topeka, and they were the first beer my mom knowingly let me drink before i was 21) are what made me the beer lover I am today. Before beer was just something to chug at parties and bbqs, but now I understand beer is a delicious complex and fascinating part of human history and culture. Without these so called mediocre beers we wouldn't have a bridge from the crap to the great. It's an exciting art form and proof that my high school algebra, chemistry and biology teachers were actually teaching me stuff that I'd use in the real world. <end rant>

soundsandsuds said:

It's pretty debatable that Boston Beer Co. is still a craft brewer at close to 2 million barrels a year.

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Is this an old article or does NBC just do crappy research?

Boston Brewing are over 2 million barrels per year, despite what that article says.

From Boston Brewing's own annual report:

Prior to 2009, the Company was able to take advantage of the reduced tax on the first 60,000 barrels of its malt beverages produced; however, in 2009 the Company&#8217;s total production of malt beverages under its licenses exceeded 2.0 million barrels and it was not able to take advantage of this reduced tax benefit.

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Technically, they are not a craft brewer anymore for tax purposes.

BigJerk said:

Ok, I'll preface this with my love for the big beers we brew here in the nw, but <begin rant> I feel that beers like Shiner (got to give them a shout out since they were my first venture away from the bud when I lived in TX) and boulevard (I used to live near Topeka, and they were the first beer my mom knowingly let me drink before i was 21) are what made me the beer lover I am today. Before beer was just something to chug at parties and bbqs, but now I understand beer is a delicious complex and fascinating part of human history and culture. Without these so called mediocre beers we wouldn't have a bridge from the crap to the great. It's an exciting art form and proof that my high school algebra, chemistry and biology teachers were actually teaching me stuff that I'd use in the real world. <end rant>

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Did we just agree?

Yup, There just seems to be a lotta hatein' on some of the mid grade brews, I just wanted to remind people that without these we could never have the wonderful variety of tasty brews we all enjoy, hell, until a couple of years ago I didn't think that i could even make beer, much less make a tasty beer, and I owe this happy journey all to Shiner Bock which showed me that not all beer has to be carbonated p!sswater.

weirdboy said:

Is this an old article or does NBC just do crappy research?

Boston Brewing are over 2 million barrels per year, despite what that article says.

From Boston Brewing's own annual report:



Technically, they are not a craft brewer anymore for tax purposes.

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Okay, sure. I guess I'm not a tax-man. I still say they produce a "craft" quality beer. Boston Lager hasn't changed in quality or recipe (so they say) since it was initially brewed. I doubt Budmillercoors can say anything like that about their flagship brews.

BigJerk said:

Yup, There just seems to be a lotta hatein' on some of the mid grade brews, I just wanted to remind people that without these we could never have the wonderful variety of tasty brews we all enjoy, hell, until a couple of years ago I didn't think that i could even make beer, much less make a tasty beer, and I owe this happy journey all to Shiner Bock which showed me that not all beer has to be carbonated p!sswater.

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Ok I thought so

My story is similar to yours, but I grew up in BFE oklahoma and things like rolling rock and hienekin were what i worked my way up on. Then I went in the navy and Lived about 3 miles from portsmouth brewery in NH. I go to texas fairly often for work and when I'm there i drink Shiner. When I'm in OK now I drink boulevard.

wacko said:

I too am very unimpressed with boulevard. I think, however, that they are doing the work in the midwest that they have to do. Palettes there aren't ready or some big pacnw hoppy beers. They're right in the middle of budweiserland. So they tone it down and they bring people over slow. Personally I liked their bourbon barrel quad though.

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lolz

I guess that's why boulevard is flying off the shelves in Portland and why you used to be able to trade a single smokestack for like 4 plinys before Boulevard came to the coast. I'm glad you guys finally got ready for some midwest beer up there.

remilard said:

lolz

I guess that's why boulevard is flying off the shelves in Portland and why you used to be able to trade a single smokestack for like 4 plinys before Boulevard came to the coast. I'm glad you guys finally got ready for some midwest beer up there.

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Do you still live here? Your experience with boulevard is vastly different than mine. No one I know buys it, nor do we discuss it. They have some decent beers, my brother even had a keg at his wedding (again, in oklahoma).

weirdboy said:

Is this an old article or does NBC just do crappy research?

Boston Brewing are over 2 million barrels per year, despite what that article says.

From Boston Brewing's own annual report:



Technically, they are not a craft brewer anymore for tax purposes.

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The tax is a 'small brewery' tax, not a craft brewery tax. And some people are working to change that, since a brewery with just over 1% of the market falls into the large brewery category.

The Brewer's Association considers Boston Beer Co. a craft brewery because roughly 200,000 bbl of their sales come from Twisted Tea, which is not a beer, so their total beer production is under the 2000000/year.

Here's the list NBC took the top 10 from:

http://www.brewersassociation.org/p...sociation-releases-2009-top-50-breweries-list

wacko said:

Do you still live here? Your experience with boulevard is vastly different than mine. No one I know buys it, nor do we discuss it. They have some decent beers, my brother even had a keg at his wedding (again, in oklahoma).

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Maybe that is a feature of the people you know?

Not just the people I know, but I enjoy discussing beer with anyone who happens to be in the beer aisle with me lol. You've got me interested now, I'm going to talk to my beer people at my store.

wacko said:

Not just the people I know, but I enjoy discussing beer with anyone who happens to be in the beer aisle with me lol. You've got me interested now, I'm going to talk to my beer people at my store.

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I've posed this question to others on this topic, but what BLVD beers have you tried? I agree that their normal lineup isn't earth shattering, but few breweries try to reinvent the wheel with their bread and butter offerings. (Enough cliches in that sentence?) But have you tried any of their Smokestack offerings? All of the year-round ones are great in their own right, but their seasonals in the Smokestack series are down right awesome!

wacko said:

that they are doing the work in the midwest that they have to do. Palettes there aren't ready or some big pacnw hoppy beers. They're right in the middle of budweiserland. So they tone it down and they bring people over slow.

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Yes, we're just not as sophisticated as you cosmopolitans in the NW. Compared to Portland, Chicago is such a hamlet . . . LOL!

I_B_Mongo said:

I've posed this question to others on this topic, but what BLVD beers have you tried? I agree that their normal lineup isn't earth shattering, but few breweries try to reinvent the wheel with their bread and butter offerings. (Enough cliches in that sentence?) But have you tried any of their Smokestack offerings? All of the year-round ones are great in their own right, but their seasonals in the Smokestack series are down right awesome!

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I have tried double wide IPA and the bourbon barrel Quad. double wide wasn't anything special and the quad I quite enjoyed. I've also gone to a tasting by the distributer at my local store. They only had about 5 beers, but only the quad stood out for me. Can't remember which keg my brother had, but any craft brew will do when I'm back home visiting family.

Pappers said:

Yes, we're just not as sophisticated as you cosmopolitans in the NW. Compared to Portland, Chicago is such a hamlet . . . LOL!

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Chicago is a great town, I would love to have some recommendations from you on beers to drink. The only brewery i recognized when I did a quick search was Goose island.

wacko said:

Chicago is a great town, I would love to have some recommendations from you on beers to drink. The only brewery i recognized when I did a quick search was Goose island.

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Three Floyds, Metropolitan, Half Acre, Two Brothers, Revolution, Piece and Flossmor Station all make outstanding beers. Other than Goose Island and Three Floyds, I don't know if the others are distributed outside the state.

Metropolitan specializes in lagers, which is unusual for a microbrewery. Its run by a husband/wife team and I really enjoy their beers. Half Acre seems to operate a little like a cooperative - with the result being some very creative/unusual beers come out of there. Their basic pale ale (Daisy Cutter) is really quite good, as is their schwarzbier. Two Brothers makes a rye beer that I enjoy.

Piece and Flossmor Station are brew pubs and there are a couple more in the southwest area of the metropolitan area that I've been told about but haven't tried yet.

wacko said:

I have tried double wide IPA and the bourbon barrel Quad. double wide wasn't anything special and the quad I quite enjoyed. I've also gone to a tasting by the distributer at my local store. They only had about 5 beers, but only the quad stood out for me. Can't remember which keg my brother had, but any craft brew will do when I'm back home visiting family.

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I'm glad you liked the BBQ. It's one of my favorites too! Another couple to try (depending on availability and your taste preferences) are the Imperial Stout, Saison Brett, Wheat Wine, and Rye-on-Rye.

I didn't make my posts trying to say Boulevard is the best brewery in America, but just to defend my hometown brewery. I feel (along with a lot of others) that they make some excellent beers. I've had lots of beers from around the country & world and feel that some of BLVD's beers are right up there with other breweries.

It also seems that there is sometimes a hipster feel for some beer drinkers. Meaning that once a beer/brewery is popular with the masses, some people are reluctant to say they like it. You see this with a lot with bands/musicians. People LOVE to love a beer(band) that nobody else knows about, but once it's mainstream, they no longer like it. I'm not accusing you of this, just my rant on some beer drinkers.

If you ever want to try some other BLVD beers and can't find them, PM me. Maybe we can work out a trade for some NW beers I can't get here in KC.

I might be interested in that I B. I'll see what I can find locally.
(Even if you did just call me a hipster )

for the record, I've always been a "drink Local" Beer guy, so I'm sure I'd be enjoying boulevard if I was back in the midwest. Choc? maybe not.

wacko said:

...for the record, I've always been a "drink Local" Beer guy, so I'm sure I'd be enjoying boulevard if I was back in the midwest.

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Well said! Beer (good beer) is difficult to ship long distances. Stick with the local product.

wacko said:

Not just the people I know, but I enjoy discussing beer with anyone who happens to be in the beer aisle with me lol. You've got me interested now, I'm going to talk to my beer people at my store.

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You should talk to people at the Green Dragon. I was there in January, shortly after Boulevard began distribution, and the bar tender was telling me how much she loved Tank 7 and how fast they sold through it.