Earlier today, American brewing-industry trade group, the Brewers Association, released its annual lists of top U.S. breweries for 2017. Not to be mistaken with rankings based on quality, this list is based on total production figures for the past calendar year. It is a list several San Diego County breweries have been a part of for the better part of the past decade, and remain a part of for the year gone by.
In order to provide a more informative picture, the Brewers Association produces two lists. One, titled the Craft Brewing List, includes brewing companies that meet the organization’s definition of “craft brewer.” The most important criteria in respect to these lists is that brewers produce six million barrels of beer or less annually, and are outright independent or less than 25% owned or controlled by a beverage alcohol industry member which is not itself a craft brewer. Meanwhile, an Overall List includes large macro-beer companies and conglomerates.
Stone Brewing remains the highest-ranking local brewing interest on the Craft Brewing List, coming in at number eight. Though sales have slowed for the Escondido-based company, the beer brewed at its large Richmond, Virginia, production brewery aided its ascent. The next-highest locals on the list are Karl Strauss Brewing Company at number 41 and Green Flash Brewing Company at number 43. Karl Strauss remains in the same spot it occupied in 2016, while Green Flash has slipped six places. The latter also operates a Virginia brewery in Virginia Beach, and is in the process of taking over a recently-acquired brewpub in Lincoln, Nebraska, but recently contracted its sales territories, has suffered through two significant rounds of layoffs, and is openly seeking capital investment.
Though Ballast Point Brewing remains the largest beer-making operation in San Diego County, it does not show up on either list. Instead, it is lumped into parent company Constellation Brands, which ranks number three on the Overall List. Stone was the only local independent craft brewery to make it onto the Overall List, coming in at number 18. Both lists can be viewed in their entirety here.