Legend:
↑ Higher than 2018 rank
↓ Lower than 2018 rank
= Same position as 2018 rank
+ New to list in 2019
→ Moved up from a lower-volume category
Small Breweries
(fewer than 15,000 barrels per year)
1. Hill Farmstead (Greensboro Bend, Vermont) =
2. WeldWerks (Greeley, Colorado) ↑
3. Jester King (Austin, Texas) ↑
4. Other Half Brewing (Brooklyn, New York) ↑
5. Hop Butcher for the World (Chicago, Illinois) ↑
6. Bissell Brothers (Portland, Maine) ↑
7. Burial (Asheville, North Carolina) ↓
8. Crooked Stave (Denver, Colorado) ↑
9. The Bruery (Placentia, California) ↑
10. Cantillon (Brussels, Belgium) ↓
11. Great Notion (Portland, Oregon) +
12. Jolly Pumpkin (Dexter, Michigan) ↑
13. Side Project (Maplewood, Missouri) ↑
14. Bottle Logic Brewing (Anaheim, California) +
15. Oxbow Brewing (Newcastle, Maine) +
16. Odd13 (Lafayette, Colorado) ↑
17. Tired Hands (Ardmore, Pennsylvania) ↓
18. 3 Fonteinen (Lot, Belgium) +
19. Perennial Artisan Ales (St. Louis, Missouri) ↑
20. Sante Adairius (Capitola, California) +
Midsize Breweries
(15,000–100,000 barrels per year)
1. Russian River (Santa Rosa, California) =
2. Tree House (Charlton, Massachusetts) ↑
3. Allagash (Portland, Maine) ↑
4. Trillium (Canton, Massachusetts) ↓
5. Three Floyds (Munster, Indiana) ↑
6. Toppling Goliath (Decorah, Iowa) ↑
7. Modern Times (San Diego, California) ↓
8. Avery Brewing (Boulder, Colorado) ↓
9. The Alchemist (Stowe, Vermont) =
10. Half Acre (Chicago, Illinois) ↑
11. Surly (Minneapolis, Minnesota) ↓
12. Ommegang (Cooperstown, New York) ↓
13. Fat Heads (Middleburg Heights, Ohio) +
14. Maine Beer Company (Freeport, Maine) →
15. Fremont (Seattle, Washington) ↑
16. Revolution (Chicago, Illinois) =
17. Prairie Artisan Ales (Krebs, Oklahoma) +
18. Saint Arnold (Houston, Texas) +
19. Lawson’s Finest (Warren, Vermont) →
20. North Coast Brewing (Fort Bragg, California) +
Large Breweries
(100,000–500,000 barrels per year)
1. Bell’s Brewery (Kalamazoo, Michigan) =
2. Firestone Walker (Paso Robles, California) ↑
3. Stone Brewing Co. (Escondido, California) ↓
4. Dogfish Head (Milton, Delaware) =
5. Deschutes (Bend, Oregon) =
6. Odell (Fort Collins, Colorado) =
7. Cigar City (Tampa, Florida) ↑
8. New Glarus (New Glarus, Wisconsin) ↑
9. Boulevard (Kansas City, Missouri) ↑
10. Tröegs (Hershey, Pennsylvania) ↓
11. Oskar Blues (Longmont, Colorado) ↓
12. Southern Tier/Victory/ABI (various) ↓
15. Great Lakes (Cleveland, Ohio) ↑
14. Weinhestephaner (Weihenstephan, Germany) ↑
15. Brooklyn Brewery (Brooklyn, New York) ↑
16. Ayinger (Aying, Germany) ↑
17. Harpoon (Boston, Massachusetts) ↑
18. Sweetwater (Atlanta, Georgia) +
19. Rhinegeist Brewing (Cincinnati, Ohio) +
20. August Schell (New Ulm, Minnesota) +
Very Large Breweries
(500,000+ barrels per year)
1. Sierra Nevada (Chico, California) =
2. Founders Brewing (Grand Rapids, Michigan) =
3. New Belgium (Fort Collins, Colorado) =
4. Boston Beer Co. (Boston, Massachusetts) =
5. Lagunitas/Heineken (Petaluma, California) =
6. Ballast Point/Constellation (San Diego, California) =
7. Goose Island/ABI (Chicago, Illinois) ↑
8. Guinness/Diageo (Dublin, Ireland) ↓
9. Yuengling (Pottsville, Pennsylvania) ↑
10. Miller (Milwaukee, Wisconsin) +
A note about our methodology: Categories are based on barrels of beer brewed in 2019. Ranking correlates with reader votes received. In order to not influence results, we asked readers to type in their own answers to these questions rather than select from a list, and they were allowed to type in as many as five favorites for each category. The Very Large category was shortened based on the number of breweries in the category and the drop in statistical significance of votes cast after tenth place in that category.