In this article, we are going to discuss the 10 largest craft breweries in the US by volume. If you want to check out our detailed analysis of the oldest recipe for beer, the craft beer revolution, the Brewers Association, the largest beer producer by volume, the top craft brewer state, alliances in the craft beer industry and the craft beer market, head to 25 Largest Craft Breweries in the US by Volume.
10. SweetWater Brewing Company
Sales Volume in 2022: 225,000 bbls
Founded by Freddy Bensch and Kevin McNerney in Atlanta, SweetWater’s beers are unpasteurized and distribution is limited to select states. In 2020, SweetWater was acquired for $300 million by Aphria Inc., a large cannabis producer based in Ontario.
9. Dogfish Head Craft Brewery
Sales Volume in 2022: 228,000 bbls
Founded by Sam and Mariah Calagione in 1995, Dogfish Head used to be the smallest microbrewery in the United States when Calagione first started with three very small kegs with propane burners beneath them and produced only 10 gallons of beer per day. Twenty eight years later, it is one of the most well-known and largest craft breweries in the United States.
Dogfish Head Craft Brewery was acquired by The Boston Brewing Company, Inc. (NYSE:SAM) in 2019, in a deal that paid Sam Calagione and his family $127.7 million in shares of The Boston Brewing Company, Inc. (NYSE:SAM), and $173 million in cash to its shareholders.
8. New Glarus Brewing Company
Sales Volume in 2022: 231,795 bbls
In 1992, Deb Carey raised the capital for a craft brewery startup as a gift to her husband Daniel Carey, establishing herself as the first woman to found and operate a brewery in the U.S. The Careys then converted an abandoned warehouse into the New Glarus Brewing Company’s original Riverside Brewery. The first barrels rolled out in November 1993 – the fastest micro brewery startup ever. New Glarus uses 100% natural ingredients to produce world class, hand-crafted beers.
7. Deschutes Brewery
Sales Volume in 2022: 245,758 bbls
Gary Fish established a small brewpub in 1988 in downtown Bend, Oregon and named it after the iconic waterway flowing through the town, the Deschutes River. In its first year, the public house sold 310 barrels of beer and today Deschutes is one of the largest craft breweries in the U.S. and can be found in 32 states and even a few countries.
6. Brooklyn Brewery
Sales Volume in 2022: 276,729 bbls
Steve Hindy learned to brew beer during a six-year stay in several Middle Eastern countries, such as Saudi Arabia and Kuwait etc. Upon his return to his home in Brooklyn, he and Tom Potter, his downstairs neighbor, quit their jobs and founded the Brooklyn Brewery in 1988. Brooklyn Brewery also acquired a 20% stake in Matt Brewing Company for an undisclosed amount a few years ago.
5. Spoetzl Brewery
Sales Volume in 2022: 492,320 bbls
Originally named the Shiner Brewing Association, Spoetzl Brewery was started in 1909 by Kosmos Spoetzl, making it the oldest independent brewery in Texas. The 5th largest craft brewery by volume in the U.S. was acquired by the family-owned Gambrinus Company in 1989, which has invested over $15 million in the brewery since then, most of it going towards expansion.
4. Firestone Walker Brewing Company
Sales Volume in 2022: 511,120 bbls
Known for its best-selling beers like 805 and Mind Haze, this family-owned brewery was named the World Beer Cup Champion Brewery in 2004, 2006, 2010 and 2012. Firestone Walker merged with the Antwerp-based Duvel Moortgat USA in 2015, in a deal worth an estimated $250 million. The company pays special attention to environmental sustainability and brews the vast majority of its beer using the California sunshine.
3. Sierra Nevada Brewing Company
Sales Volume in 2022: 1 million bbls
When he finally started a brewery, Ken Grossman scoured salvage yards and dairies to find the tanks, pipes and valves he needed to hand-build Sierra Nevada’s original brewhouse. He put his first batch of craft beer to the test in 1980, and the Pale Ale that followed sparked a true craft beer revolution. Still 100% family owned and operated, Sierra Nevada is among the largest craft breweries in the U.S. by volume and boasts an annual revenue of over $320 million, turning its owner into a beer billionaire.
Sierra Nevada ranks 3rd in the Brewer Association Top 50 Craft Breweries of 2022.
2. The Boston Beer Company, Inc. (NYSE:SAM)
Sales Volume in 2022: 1.46 million bbls
The story of The Boston Beer Company, Inc. (NYSE:SAM) started when Jim Koch discovered his great-great-grandfather’s recipe for Louis Koch Lager in his family’s attic in Cincinnati. He knew he was onto something when he tried to recreate that recipe and it ultimately led to the creation of the iconic Boston Lager.
The Boston Beer Company, Inc. (NYSE:SAM) currently has a market cap of $3.83 billion and boasted a revenue of $2.09 billion in 2022.
1. D. G. Yuengling and Son Inc.
Sales Volume in 2022: 2.28 million bbls
Established by the German brewer David Yuengling in 1829, Yuengling is the oldest operating brewery in the United States. In 2022, the Pennsylvania-based company was also the Number One Craft Brewery in the U.S. by Volume of sales and the largest wholly American-owned brewery in America.
Yuengling also restarted its ice cream business in 2013, which was sold off to an Atlanta-based company in 2019.
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