OHIO — The Brewers Association released its annual report highlighting some of the nation's best craft brewing companies, and three Ohio-based businesses made the top 50 for 2023.
The report has two parts: the top 50 craft brewing companies in the U.S. and the overall top 50 brewing companies. The report looks at beer production based on sales volume.
As for the craft brewing list, Great Lakes in Cleveland placed No. 17, Rhinegeist in Cincinnati got 22nd place and BrewDog in Canal Winchester got 36th place. Then for the overall list, Great Lakes came in 27th, Rhinegeist in 32nd place and BrewDog in 46th place.
“2023 was another competitive and challenging year for small and independent brewers,” said Bart Watson, vice president of strategy and chief economist of the Brewers Association, in the report. “Nevertheless, even as growth has downshifted, small brewers have proved quite resilient, as seen in the increase in number of breweries, relatively low closing rates, and gains in onsite sales and jobs.”
Other than the rankings, the report also notes figures about the craft brewing business sector in the U.S.:
- The number of operating craft breweries reached an all-time high of 9,761 last year, which includes 2,092 microbreweries, 3,502 brewpubs, 3,910 taproom breweries, and 257 regional craft breweries
- The total U.S. operating brewery count also increased between 2022 and 2023, going from 9,824 to 9,906
- There were 495 new brewery openings — a decrease for the second consecutive year — and 418 closings in 2023
- Craft brewers employed 191,421 people in 2023, which was a 1.1% increase from 2022
- Small and independent brewers produced 23.4 million barrels of beer in 2023, which is a 1% decrease from 2022
- Craft beer market share volume grew to 13.3%, which is slightly up from the 13.1% in 2022
- Overall, the beer market shrank 5.1% by volume in 2023
To view the full list of rankings, click here.