Dive Brief:
- Brewers Association has released its 2015 lists of top U.S. brewers, both in craft and overall, based on sales volumes for the year.
- Topping the 2015 craft brewer list were Yuengling, Boston Beer, Sierra Nevada, New Belgium, and Gambrinus — the same order of the top five craft brewers from the 2014 list.
- Overall, the top U.S. beer producers last year were Anheuser-Busch InBev, MillerCoors, Pabst Brewing, Yuengling, and Boston Beer.
Dive Insight:
Ballast Point Brewing was the fastest-growing on the list this year, having jumped 20 places from No. 31 to No. 11. It was also the fastest-growing brewer of 2013, when it boosted its rank 17 places to No. 29. Ballast Point's growth was duly noted by Constellation Brands, which announced it would acquire the brand for $1 billion last year — the largest sum offered for a craft brewer to date. On the BA's 2015 list, Ballast Point's volume was prorated to reflect the acquisition.
Per the BA's definition of a craft brewer, Ballast Point will no longer appear on this list due to Constellation's ownership, along with Lagunitas Brewing, which Heineken acquired a 50% stake in last year, and Breckenridge Brewery and Four Peaks Brewing, both of which AB InBev announced acquisitions of last year. According to the BA, a craft brewer cannot have sold more than 25% of ownership to an entity that itself is not a craft brewer.
Next year's lists will look somewhat different if the industry continues on this path. In 2015, at least two dozen craft beer transactions took place as larger brewers and alcoholic beverage companies expand their portfolios. That not only means that breweries will fall off next year's list. But any others that are acquired this year will also have prorated volumes factored in, which means falling in the ranks until disappearing from the craft brewer list.
Also, craft brewers that were acquired by larger brewers could find themselves rising in the ranks of the overall U.S. brewer list as the acquiring company offers the capital, distribution, and other relationships and business expertise that can help the craft brewer grow.