Brewer’s Association announces top US beers

The Brewer’s Association recently released a “Top 50″ list of both craft brewing and overall brewing companies. The BA calculates the top US brewers in these two categories by using overall sales. Not surprisingly, the top three were the “big three”– Anheuser-Busch, Miller and Coors.

In the craft-brewing world, the top three were: Boston Beer Company (makers of Sam Adams), Sierra Nevada Brewing Co, and the New Belgium Brewing Co.

Interestingly, the top two craft-beers are two of the “older” craft brewers in the US, both starting operations in the early 1980s.

Not just anyone can be considered a craft brewer. According to the Brewer’s Association, craft brewers brew less than 2 million barrels yearly, and are connected with the communities they brew in. They adhere to traditional methods of brewing, which means they must use at least 50% malt in their beers (not fillers like rice and corn).

Craft brewers have gained in steady popularity since their resurgence in the late 1970s. The Brewer’s Association claims that craft brewers brewed up over 8 million barrels last year alone, and is a $5.7 billion industry. Compare that to the 200 million barrels of beer produced annually, (which is 6,200,000,000 gallons) and you can start to see just how much of the “barrel” craft brewers take up. There are over 1,000 craft-breweries in the US, and only 20 “non-craft” breweries, according to the BA.

So when you relax and have a brew, which will you choose?