Out of the top 50 overall brewing companies, 40 are classed by the Brewers Association as craft brewers.
The rankings are based on sales volume.
The definition of a craft brewer is one that is small (with annual production of 6 million barrels of beer or less) and independent (less than 25% of the brewery is owned or controlled by an alcoholic beverage industry member that is not itself a craft brewer); and has a TTB Brewer's Notice and makes beer.
The US' overall top 10 brewers, according to the BA's figures, are Anheuser-Busch, MillerCoors, Constellation, Heineken, Pabst Brewing Co, D.G.Yuengling & Son, Guinness brewer Diageo, FIFCO USA, Sam Adams maker Boston Beer Co and Sierra Nevada Brewing Co.
There are three craft brewers in this top 10: D.G. Yuengling & Son; Boston Beer Co; and Sierra Nevada Brewing Co.
The top five US craft brewers remain unchanged from last year's list: these are D.G. Yuengling & Son (Pottsville, PA); Boston Beer Co (Boston, MA); Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. (Chico, CA); New Belgium Brewing Co. (Fort Collins, CO); and Duvel Moortgat (Paso Robles, CA).
A full State of the Industry report will be released at the 2019 Craft Brewers Conference & BrewExpo America (Denver, Colorado, April 8-11).
A 2018 industry analysis will follow in the May/June issue of The New Brewer.
