Wednesday, April 9, 2008

Beer: Brewer's Association Top Brewers List

The Brewers Association released their newest Top Brewers List this week. They rank the Top 50 "Craft Brewers" and the Top 50 "Overall Brewers" by 2007 sales volume. Not too surprisingly, zero Indiana breweries appear on the lists. Indiana boast no major "macro breweries" that top the "Overall Brewers" category and the largest craft brewer in the state might be Three Floyds Brewery (a guess). Despite their recognition for very high quality, they're still a relatively small player in the market. California dominates the "Craft Brewers" list with a whopping 11 breweries, eight of which also appear on the "Overall Brewers" list. See the full list here.

5 comments:

Fred said...

Great post - thanks for the info. I saw a blurb about it and was going to try to track down the list tonight - no need to now.

Sorry I missed you at BadaBoomz - I tried to keep an eye out, but got distracted by the awesome beer special.

Thanks!

Erik Huntoon said...

That is a pretty fascinating list for a variety of reasons. The Spoetzl Brewery is ranked #4 on the craft list and #10 total, yet isn't even available in this state. If you don't know who that is.. they make Shiner. If you are ever in Texas near San Antonio, I highly recommend a stop at the brewery for a tour.

Another interesting brewery near the top was High Falls who makes the JW Dundee's lineup. This is one of my favorite brands due to incredible pricing (About $4.50 / six pack) and quality of the beer. I did a blind taste test of the JW Dundees Pale Ale vs. Stone Pale Ale with my dad. After trying both beers, he was sure the JW Dundee's must be the Stone. At almost half the price, you can understand why I like them that much. Plus they make a really good IPA that is available at most Marsh Supermarkets.

Ok.. rambling here.. peace out. :-)

CorrND said...

Agreed about High Falls Brewing. That brewery is actually in my hometown of Rochester, NY, though we knew it as Genesee Brewing Company when I was growing up.

They used to contract brew a lot of Sam Adams and wikipedia says "One-third of Samuel Adams beer is still produced under contract at breweries in Rochester, NY and Eden, NC."

And I definitely agree with you about the JW Dundee Pale. That's my beer of choice at tailgates because you can pick up a case of it from the Rural Inn for $15 (buy three $5 six packs, get one free on JW-D's products). I get to drink decent beer and it's so cheap, I don't mind providing for everybody else too. Of course, you have to brave the Rural Inn, but what's life without the possibility of being shot from time to time?!

For the price, I love their IPA as well. Not like I'd pick it for my "desert island beer" but it's got a surprising amount of hop kick for the price. Too bad it's a "seasonal" for them.

rodney said...

If Shiner Bock was available here it would always be stocked in our fridge. We pick some up every time we're in Cincinnati.

I think Shiner Bock and Fat Tire are the Coors of our generation. Which I guess means it's for the best that it's not distributed here.

Matt said...

coming from somewhere that can get Spoetzl products easily, believe me you can get sick of them easy.