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The country’s five largest craft brewers by volume in 2023 remain unchanged from 2022, according to the Brewers Association (BA), which released its annual craft brewery production report yesterday.

Those five breweries ranked in order are D.G. Yuengling & Son, Boston Beer Company, Sierra Nevada, Duvel Moortgat (Firestone Walker, Boulevard, Brewery Ommegang), and Gambrinus (Shiner, Trumer). 

A pattern repeating from last year is “the emergence of groups, as more craft brewers look to partner, join, acquire to achieve scale, or are looking for a larger partner, if they're struggling,” BA chief economist and VP of strategy Bart Watson said during a press conference. 

Watson said: “That's a trend we're going to continue to see grow in the next couple of years.” 

The No. 6 spot went to the beer division of Canadian cannabis company Tilray, which includes SweetWater, Green Flash, Alpine, Montauk, 10 Barrel, Redhook, Widmer Brothers, Breckenridge and Blue Point. 

To claim the No. 6 spot, Tilray edged out Artisanal Brewing Ventures (ABV), the rollup of Victory, Southern Tier and Sixpoint, which held it in 2022 but dropped to No. 7 in 2023. Sapporo-owned Stone Brewing was the seventh largest craft brewery by volume in 2022; Sapporo’s acquisition of it closed in August 2022, removing it from the BA’s data set for 2023. 

Brooklyn Brewery jumped two spots to No. 8, ahead of Monster Brewing (Oskar Blues, Cigar City, Deep Ellum, Squatters, Wasatch, Perrin), which dropped one spot to No. 9. 

Non-alcoholic craft brewery Athletic jumped three spots to No. 10. 

There was lots of movement beyond the top 10. New Glarus, which only distributes within its home state of Wisconsin, increased output enough to move up one spot to No. 11. It switched places with Deschutes, which fell one spot to No. 12.

The acquisition of Flying Dog (No. 34 in 2022) in 2023 propelled F.X. Matt Brewing up one spot to No. 13. Further down the list, the addition of Ecliptic Brewing and Wings & Arrow Beer to Ninkasi (No. 43 in 2022) under the Great Frontier Holdings umbrella pushed the platform to No. 35 in 2023.

Other noteworthy leaps outside the top 25:

• Pittsburgh jumped 10 spots to No. 21;
• Jack’s Abby leaped nine spots to No. 38;
• Fiddlehead gained eight spots, landing at No. 28. 

All three breweries repeated strong growth from 2022, when Pittsburgh went from unranked to No. 31, Jack’s Abby jumped 16 spots and Fiddlehead leaped 13. 

One “commonality” among “fast-growing brewers” such as Georgetown, Fiddlehead and Jack’s Abby, “is real geographic focus,” Watson said. 

Watson said: “Many of them are not super widely distributed. They're really going deep in particular markets. Many of them – and this is more qualitative, but in talking to them – have succeeded partly by continuing to focus on draft, suggesting there's still a lot of draft opportunity out there for brewers who make that a focus part of their strategy.”

Insiders can read more about which breweries made the list for the first time and which breweries fell off. 

“Beer is a culture as much as anything else, and we need to do a better job of reminding policymakers,” Justin Kissinger, president and CEO of the World Brewing Alliance, told attendees Tuesday at the National Beer Wholesalers Assocation’s (NBWA) annual Legislative Conference in Washington, D.C.

Kissinger was part of an industry panel that closed out Tuesday’s General Session, along with Beer Institute (BI) president and CEO Brian Crawford, Brewers Association president and CEO Bob Pease and American Beverage Licensees (ABL) executive director John Bodnovich, moderated by NBWA president and CEO Craig Purser. 

​One of the largest regulatory concerns for all the panelists is what will be changed in the latest dietary guidelines for beverage alcohol, which are updated every five years. The U.S. Departments of Agriculture  (USDA) and Health and Human Services (HHS) will release their next Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA) in 2025. 

Concerns over harsher guidelines and a growing neo-prohibitionism movement began bubbling to the surface last year, when the World Health Organization (WHO) issued a statement that there is “no safe amount” of alcohol that does not affect health. Around the same time, Canada’s Centre on Substance Use and Addiction advised adults to cut their intake of bev-alc to two drinks per week.

Kissinger said: “This is coming. This is a trend that people are really interested in pushing, there’s a ton of money around it. It has really bought pick-up in major media outlets around not just the United States, but around the world.” 

Pease admitted that dietary guidelines have “not always been top of mind,” for craft brewers.

Pease said: “But that is quickly shifting because of some of the ominous implications that could not go our way when the guidelines are released in 2025.”

Insiders can read the full panel recap, including comments on non-alcoholic beer and the importance of the on-premise.

“We also need to reiterate to legislators that our nation's alcohol policy exists for a reason. Shipping booze through the mail may sound innocent to some outside of our industry. But everyone in this room knows that direct-to-consumer schemes fundamentally undermine responsible regulation” - NBWA president and CEO Craig Purser during his opening remarks for the trade group’s legislative conference this week in Washington, D.C.

The NBWA’s messaging has remained consistently against allowing beer to be shipped through the mail. Meanwhile, the Brewers Association (BA) has backed the U.S. Postal Service Shipping Equity Act, which they view gives small and independent breweries, wineries and distilleries a more equal playing field when it comes to reaching consumers. 

Purser also encouraged members to be aware that 2017 tax cuts for corporations will expire in 2025, and pushed for continued advocacy for the differences between beer, wine and spirits, particularly as spirits advocates push for their own tax cuts.

Purser said: “Our industry is diversifying and many of you have spirits and wine on your trucks. We have no quarrel with these products, which are part of the incredible choice provided by the system. We just want to make sure that lawmakers understand the consensus public health principles that have led Congress in the states to consistently reaffirm a tax and regulatory structure that treats these products differently.”

San Diego’s Harland Brewing and Mate Maker have teamed up with Old Grove Farms for a pair of citrus-inspired beverages using organic, sustainable fruit from the Inland Empire farm co-op.

Mate Maker’s Secret Citrus Hard Kombucha (6% ABV) uses Old Grove’s Redlands navel oranges and Vic Secret hops for “notes of mango and passionfruit with a hint of resinous background that’s enhanced by sumptuous fruit juices,” according to a press release. It is available in 16 oz. single-serve cans and on draft in Southern California.

Harland’s Channel Orange-Mango Australian XPA (5.5% ABV) blends Vic Secret and Citra hops with “strong citrus characteristics with a finish of candied mango." It is available in 4-packs of 16 oz. cans and on draft in Southern California.

Mate Maker founder Justin Medcraft said: “We’re thrilled to collaborate with our mates over at Harland Brewing Co. to create two incredible recipes. Their commitment to world-class brewing and innovation has inspired us for quite a while and we are excited to work directly with Old Grove Orange in Redlands to learn more about their commitment to passing on their practices of regenerative and sustainable fruit farming to the next generation.

Next week, the Brewbound Podcast On Location will be in LAS VEGAS for the Brewers Association’s Craft Brewers Conference.

The Brewbound team will be on the trade show floor (Booth 1989) in Sin City conducting interviews with industry leaders, starting Monday, April 22, through Wednesday, April 24. 

Interested in connecting? Email podcast@brewbound.com. 

And make sure to catch Brewbound Podcast On Location interviews from the California Craft Brewers Conference now, with new episodes coming in the next few weeks.

At Brewbound Live in Marina del Rey, CA on December 11 + 12, beer and beverage-alcohol brands can participate in retailer one-to-ones. Leaders from Whole Foods Market will be available for private, pre-scheduled meetings. Brands will be selected at each retailers’ discretion.

As the world’s leader in natural and organic foods, with a vast network spanning over 500 stores, Whole Foods holds substantial influence in the market. These meetings present a unique opportunity for beer and beverage-alcohol brands aspiring to excel in retail channels focusing on natural and organic products. 

Participating brands can gain invaluable insights and strategic guidance tailored towards facilitating growth within these specialized retail environments.

You must be registered for Brewbound Live to be considered for a retailer meeting. Once you register for the event, you will receive an email with instructions for signing up.

Register for Brewbound Live Winter 2024.

There could be a correlation between what you drink and how you vote, according to Pluribus News founder and editor Reid Wilson, who spoke during the General Session at the NBWA Legislative Conference Tuesday. 

Wilson shared the above graph citing Scarborough data, which linked bev-alc brands to how often their consumers vote, and which party they vote for. The top left quadrant represents high voter turnout and most Democratic support, while the bottom right quadrant represents low voter turnout and the highest Republican support.