The Brewers Association has announced the 2013 Top 50 US Craft Breweries by Volume, as well as the Top 50 Overall US Brewing Companies. What’s the difference? For 2013, this is what they say qualified a company as a “craft brewery”:
The definition of a craft brewer as stated by the Brewers Association in 2013: An American craft brewer is small, independent, and traditional. Small: Annual production of beer less than 6 million barrels. Beer production is attributed to a brewer according to the rules of alternating proprietorships. Flavored malt beverages are not considered beer for purposes of this definition. Independent: Less than 25% of the craft brewery is owned or controlled (or equivalent economic interest) by an alcoholic beverage industry member who is not themselves a craft brewer. Traditional: A brewer who has either an all malt flagship (the beer which represents the greatest volume among that brewer’s brands) or has at least 50% of its volume in either all malt beers or in beers which use adjuncts to enhance rather than lighten flavor.
That certainly excludes the big boy breweries like Anheuser-Busch and MillerCoors, but it also excludes companies like Craft Brew Alliance (Widmer, Redhook, Kona), which is 32% owned by Anheuser-Busch, and Pyramid, which is owned by North American Breweries (which is in turn owned by Cervecia Costa Rica/Florida Ice & Farm Company).
You can see the lists below, as well as at the Brewers Association website.
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