top 50 beer breweries

[Summitdrinker]

http://www.beertown.org/pr/pdf/top50.pdf

I see city brewery, made number 5, somewhat a surprise to me, but they do make lots a contract beer

Top 50 American Breweries Reflect the Diversity of American Beer 2
Brewers Association 736 Pearl St. Boulder, Colorado 80302
USA
www.beertown.org 888.822.6273 (U.S./Canada Only) / +1.303.447.0816
?The craft beer segment has grown steadily over the past ten years, but in 2004 it showed its biggest
increase since 1996,? said Gatza. ?The strong growth in craft beer sales shows American consumers?
continuing interest in flavorful American beers.?
Half of the top 50 brewers can be found in just five states, according to the Brewers Association. California,
Oregon, Colorado, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania collectively host nearly 500 breweries including 25 of the
top 50 domestic producers. (Five top-50 breweries each in Oregon, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin with six in
California and four in Colorado.)
The remainder of the top 50 operate from Texas (with 3 Top-50 breweries), New York (3), Minnesota (3) ,
Vermont (3), Missouri (2), Massachusetts (2), Washington (2), Alaska (1), North Carolina (1), Maine (1),
Illinois (1), Michigan (1), Louisiana (1) and Hawaii (1). Complete listings of the top-50 are included below by
rank and by state.
The craft beer segment includes approximately 1400 breweries who produce primarily all-malt beers. It
includes brewpubs (brewery/restaurant), microbreweries (less than 15,000 barrels per year) and specialty
brewers. The Brewers Association has tabulated industry growth data for these breweries annually since
1985.
Top 10 craft brewers in the United States include Boston Beer Co (MA), Sierra Nevada Brewing Co (CA),
Jacob Leinenkugel Brewing Co (WI), New Belgium Brewing Co (CO), F.X. Matt Brewing Co. (NY), Redhook
Ale Brewery (WA), Widmer Brothers Brewing Co (OR), Pyramid Alehouse/Breweries Inc. (WA), Deschutes
Brewery (OR), and Alaskan Brewing and Bottling Co (AK).
Rank Name City State
1 Anheuser-Busch Inc. St Louis MO
2 Miller Brewing Co Milwaukee WI
3 Coors Brewing Co Golden CO
4 Pabst Brewing Co. San Antonio TX
5 City Brewing Co LaCrosse WI
6 D. G. Yuengling and Son Inc. Pottsville PA
7 High Falls Brewing Co Rochester NY
8 Boston Beer Co Boston MA
9 Latrobe Brewing Co Latrobe PA
10 Sierra Nevada Brewing Co Chico CA
11 Pittsburgh Brewing Co. Pittsburgh PA
12 Jacob Leinenkugel Brewing Co Chippewa Falls WI
13 New Belgium Brewing Co Fort Collins CO
14 Spoetzl Brewery Shiner TX
15 F.X. Matt Brewing Co. Utica NY
16 Redhook Ale Brewery Woodinville WA

more in link

 

[sparkyclarky]

Interesting link. Wisconsin would have one more on that list if Pabst wouldn't have ran out on us years back. I'm wondering what City Brewing Co of LaCrosse makes that puts them that high on the list? And long live the Leines, and the wonderful $2 pitchers of it on Friday nights here in Madison!

 

[pepo]

Still I like BECKS!

 

[Kelemvor]

3 of the top 12 are in WI. Woo Hoo, Beer country.

My favirote lately is Leineys. Honey, Amber, or Red.. all awesome.

 

[DnetMHZ]

6 D. G. Yuengling and Son Inc. Pottsville PA

Yummy

 

[YetioDoom]

Originally posted by: sparkyclarky
Interesting link. Wisconsin would have one more on that list if Pabst wouldn't have ran out on us years back. I'm wondering what City Brewing Co of LaCrosse makes that puts them that high on the list? And long live the Leines, and the wonderful $2 pitchers of it on Friday nights here in Madison!

Are you talking about Madhatters or somewhere else?

 

[GoingUp]

Well if the list was based on taste, A-B wouldn't have even been listed.

 

[loup garou]

Cool, Abita and Brooklyn.

 

[YetioDoom]

Originally posted by: FrankyJunior
3 of the top 12 are in WI. Woo Hoo, Beer country.

My favirote lately is Leineys. Honey, Amber, or Red.. all awesome.

You should try mixing 1/2 honey 1/2 berry, a delicious summer treat.

 

[Scarpozzi]

It's definitely cool to see all the varieties we have here.

 

[Kelemvor]

Originally posted by: YetioDoom

Originally posted by: FrankyJunior
3 of the top 12 are in WI. Woo Hoo, Beer country.

My favirote lately is Leineys. Honey, Amber, or Red.. all awesome.

You should try mixing 1/2 honey 1/2 berry, a delicious summer treat.

Hmm. Might have to try that. Sams Club has their flavors in a Mix-n-Match setup. It's like $19 and you can mix up between certain flavors to make up your case of 24. THey also have a sampler pack with 6 of each - Creamy Dark, Honey, Amber Light, and Red I believe.

Haven't had BerryWeiss in a long time. Maybe I'll give that a try.

 

[franksta]

What does City Brewing make? I've never heard of them.

 

[CombatChuk]

I used to live about 5 minutes away from the Coors Brewery in Golden, the whole town would smell like yeast from the factory depending on the wind.

 

[Miramonti]

Top 100 beers

 

[Miramonti]

Drunk Irishman's convention, tomorrow!

(please excuse any redundancies above. )

 

[Summitdrinker]

http://www.citybrewery.com/

http://www.pigseyebeer.com/about_PEBCo.htm


LA CROSSE -- When Stroh's decided to get out of the beer-making business, it looked like the end for the old G. Heileman brewery in this river town, long known as the place with the giant 6-pack.

With the brewery would die a long tradition of La Crosse as a brewing town. The facility had stood on Third Street since 1858. Old Style and many other respected brands had been produced there.

But the brewery didn't die. Instead, some dedicated workers, and local investors, formed City Brewery in the same facility in 1999 and managed to make it the only former Heileman brewery to survive.

Today, after one "false start" and plenty of challenges, City Brewery, can claim to be among the leaders for third-tier breweries. President Randy Smith projects the company will move around 1.6 million barrels of product this year (with 31 gallons in each barrel), and employ more than 400 people during its peak production time.

"We've set all sorts of records so far this year," Smith says. "It has taken a lot of hard work by a lot of people. Some of the people here worked for no pay, up to six months. But we have produced more and more product every year, made more and more money and employed more and more people.

"Everybody here is proud of what they've done. It was the pride of the people here, many who worked for Heileman, that made it happen. We want to keep it going."

City Brewery didn't soar to immediate success. The original investors, led by entrepreneur Jim Strupp, lacked capital. They received about $1.5 million in public sector help, but just couldn't develop the markets rapidly enough.

Smith, who worked for Heileman for 22 years and holds a law degree, was involved in that first attempt to start up the company. When it became clear the plan would not work, he started calling up people he knew from the industry and local investors.

Chris Weiss, co-owner of TCI Construction in the La Crosse area, and Sabina and Curt Bosshard, became principal investors, with others involved and employees also getting shares of the company. Debt was restructured and capital obtained through Associated Bank. The public sector money has since been paid back.

One thing City Brewery had going for it was a skilled workforce that knew the plant. "We like to think of ourselves as free agents whose teams suddenly were disbanded," Smith said. "A lot of people knew the plant well, which helped."

Change led to success

That doesn't mean that upgrades and changes weren't made to the plant. In fact, the entire business philosophy changed.

"We had been given this battleship," Smith said of the old Heileman plant. "But it took a lot of fuel to get it to move through the water."

It became clear that City Brewery could not survive on its own products. So, it ventured into the "controlled packing business." Smith said, "There are not many breweries in the country that have excess capacity. We did, so decided to make use of it."

In essence, City Brewery is sort of like a micro-brewery within a large brewery. It brews several of its own brands. The "core beers" include: City Lager, City Light, KUL, KUL Lite, La Crosse Lager, La Crosse Light, City Slicker Malt Liquor and La Crosse NA. Seasonal beers include: City Pale Ale, City Cream Ale, City Winter Porter and City Festbier.

But City Brewery also brews and packages beer from other breweries, tea, energy drinks and other beverages. Smirnoff Ice was the first big contract. It required the plant to retool within 60 days.

"We lacked the pressure labeling needed for their product, and the liquid processing equipment," Smith said. "We went to Italy to get machinery for the labeling, and got equipment from elsewhere. In 60 days, we were ready."

Since that time, City Brewery has picked up contract work for Mike's Hard Lemonade, Arizona Tea, some Canadian breweries, energy drinks and others. It recently brewed and bottled some Pabst products, when Miller Brewing, which has the contract for former Pabst products, decided to farm out some of the work. All these products are both brewed and packaged in the La Crosse plant.

"Diversification is very important," Smith said. "The alcoholic beverage market has not grown as much as the 'new age' non-alcoholic drinks."

The City Brewery production facility could handle up to 7 million barrels per year, so there still is room for additional production. But the company has actually had to turn down some contract work this summer because of limitations in bottling and other areas.

City Brewery also is testing products in its labs for other drink manufacturers. "I believe we will do more of that and you could see some innovative products come out of here," Smith said. "Heileman invested in its labs here, so we still have them available."

Proud of tradition

Smith and his co-workers remain very proud of their own beer and the tradition of brewing. The world's largest 6-pack still stands on the east side of Third Street, like it did in the Heileman days, but La Crosse Lager now is displayed on it. The original Heileman house, once used for offices, remains just down the block. Gambrinus, the king of beer, still proudly hoists one on the west side of the street.

City Brewery products are distributed regionally in Wisconsin, northern Illinois, northeastern Iowa and southeastern Minnesota. About 40,000 barrels of company brew are produced, a rather small percentage of that projected 1.6 million barrels.

"We are very proud of our beers, but we could not survive on them alone," Smith said.

About 50 percent of the beer consumed in the country is produced by Anheuser Busch. Miller is second and Coors ranks third. Pabst often is listed as fourth, although Miller holds the rights to the brands of that former brewery.

About 11 percent of the American market is made up of imported beers. So-called "craft" or micro-brewery products make up about 3 percent.

"You just can't market your beer like Bud can," Smith said. "We like to think of our products as quality beers at a fair price, marketed more on a local basis."

According to Modern Brewery Magazine, City Brewery ranked third among third-tier breweries in the country, with 1.15 million barrels in 2003. The projected 1.6 million barrels this year could boost the brewery to No. 1 in that tier and a claim as the fourth largest brewery in the country.

City Brewery has gone out of its way to use state and local vendors for its bottles and cans, labeling and other areas. The company also has been very involved in La Crosse and surrounding communities' events. Earlier this year, it brewed Potosi Light beer, which is being used as a fundraiser to help build the National Beer Museum in Potosi, a small community in Grant County.

"We fought to keep this brewery going in the community, so we want to remain part of it," Smith said.

Continued emphasis on diversification will be a key to City Brewery's presence in La Crosse. "We rule nothing out for the future," Smith said. "Americans' beverage preferences are constantly changing. You have to change with the times and keep up with that diversity in the marketplace."

 

[CChaos]

Cheap sixpacks of Yuengling Black & Tan tallboys will always have a place in my heart.

 

[SaturnX]

pffft.. american beer..

--Mark

 

[HomeBrewerDude]

Originally posted by: FrankyJunior
3 of the top 12 are in WI. Woo Hoo, Beer country.

My favirote lately is Leineys. Honey, Amber, or Red.. all awesome.

Yeah, Wisconsin is definitely a beer state!

Half of the top 50 brewers can be found in just five states, according to the Brewers Association. California,
Oregon, Colorado, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania collectively host nearly 500 breweries including 25 of the
top 50 domestic producers. (Five top-50 breweries each in Oregon, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin with six in
California and four in Colorado.)

 

[jonnyGURU]

Is City Brewing Company where Bootie Beer is made?

Is City the old Strohs brewery or is Strohs made by someone else?

Too bad Florida Beer Co. (Ybor Gold, Hurricane Reef, etc.) didn't make the list. http://floridabeer.com/

Good American beer is hard to find... yet we can produce a list of top ten producers and only half make "good beer."

 

[HomeBrewerDude]

Originally posted by: sparkyclarky
Interesting link. Wisconsin would have one more on that list if Pabst wouldn't have ran out on us years back. I'm wondering what City Brewing Co of LaCrosse makes that puts them that high on the list? And long live the Leines, and the wonderful $2 pitchers of it on Friday nights here in Madison!

look here:

http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/782/

I am not very familiar with their brews and I am surprised that they are so high on the volume list. I would bet that they contract brew for other labels.

 

[Summitdrinker]

city brewery was strohs main brewery after they left detroit in the 80's/90's

I'm unsure exactly what beers they all make under contract, but Smirnoff Ice is a big one.

unsure, but miller or pabst may have the rights to strohs brands and produce them


does Pabst really make all of there beer in TX or is miller making some of there beer??


some history:

The City Brewery has continuously operated on the very same site since its founding in 1858.
When the brewery was incorporated as the G. Heileman Brewing Company in 1890, Johanna Heileman became one of the first women presidents of a corporation in the United States. She remained active in the business until her death in 1917
Until the 1880's, the brewery sold all of its beer in oak kegs. Thereafter, the brewery began selling its beer in clear glass bottles for consumption in the home. As a result, beer production tripled in the years between 1902 and 1912.
With Prohibition in 1920, the brewery switched its production to near beer, sodas and malt extract.
With Repeal of Prohibition, the brewery was recapitalized as a public company in 1933.
In 1935, the brewery further expanded its packaging to include cone-top steel cans.
In 1953, the brewery produced over one-half million barrels of beer, the most in any year in its history.
In 1959, G. Heileman Brewing Company began acquiring brewing companies and breweries around the country in a program that over the next twenty-five years culminated in its producing over 17 million barrels of beer annually including 5 million barrels at the La Crosse brewery. Heileman was acquired by Bond Corporation of Australia in 1987. In the following years, Heileman's ownership changed hands a number of times until its name and brands but not its breweries were sold to Pabst Brewing Company in 1999.
All of the Heileman breweries around the country were closed and converted to other uses. The only exception was the brewery in La Crosse, Wisconsin now again known as The City Brewery. A group of persons formerly employed by or affiliated with Heileman as well as local investors succeeded in purchasing the brewery. They subsequently extended ownership to City Brewery employees.
City Brewery now sells beers under its own trademarks throughout the upper-Midwest and also produces and packages for other leading beverage marketers. The original home of Gottlieb and Johanna Heileman, built across the street from the brewery in 1870, still serves as City Brewery's headquarters. City Brewery has 250 full-time employees

 

[Summitdrinker]

the last I knew the regular Leinenkugel and the light beer are made by Miller in Milwaukee.
and the brewery in chip falls was making all the dark beers. the brewery in chip falls didn't have enough capacity to make all the beer

 

[Blinden]

Originally posted by: FrankyJunior
3 of the top 12 are in WI. Woo Hoo, Beer country.

My favirote lately is Leineys. Honey, Amber, or Red.. all awesome.

Well, 3 of the top ELEVEN are in PA, so THERE

too bad I can't find Yuengling outside of PA anywhere, good stuff.

 

[BMdoobieW]

Originally posted by: DnetMHZ
6 D. G. Yuengling and Son Inc. Pottsville PA

Yummy

Yeppers.