CONTRACT BREWERIESWhile Samuel Adams is considered a specialty or "craft" brand, its maker, The Boston Beer Company, is actually a contract brewer. These brewers contract out the actual production of their beer, devoting the bulk of their time and financial resources to marketing. contract brewers account for a massive 35 to 40% of the U.S. specialty beer market. In 1994, Boston Beer cranked out 750,000 barrels, giving them a 27% share of this important segment of the market. Pete's Brewing Company is another example of a contract brewer.
REGIONAL BREWERIESRegional breweries produce between 15,000 and 500,000 barrels annually. The three largest regional breweries in the U.S. are: Sierra Nevada, Anchor Steam, and Red Hook Ale. Representing roughly 30% of specialty beer volume, most of these brewers are based in the Pacific Northwest. Both Sierra Nevada and Anchor Steam are now distributed nationally, and Red Hook has recently signed a distribution deal with Anheuser-Busch to obtain national distribution. While these 3 breweries pose no competition for the major-league players such as Budweiser whose annual output reaches nearly 6 million barrels, (44% of the American beer market), they command a respectable following among craft beer | devotees. Toronto's own Upper Canada Brewing Company, the leading craft beer brewery north of the border, produces upwards of 160,000 barrels. Just having obtained national distribution in America, their tasty, new Rebellion Lager is making Americans think twice about ordering their next Molson.
MICROBREWERIESWhile microbreweries produce "craft" beer, their production is limited to the aforementioned 15,000 barrel annual limit, thereby earning them the ubiquitous moniker. While microbrewery production production volume is considerably smaller than that of regional or contract brewers, it is sufficient to insure wide distribution, which is accomplished via the traditional three-tier system: Wholesaler to distributor to retailer to consumer. The first microbrewery in America was the New Albion Brewery in Sonoma, Califnornia which opened in 1976. Chico, California's Sierra Nevada soon followed, as did Seattle native, Red Hook Brewery. The latter two became so successful that they have grown into regional brewers (as mentioned above). At the end of 1995, there were 280 microbreweries in the United States, 64 of which opened as recently as 1994. Brands in this category are numerous and include such deftly named concoctions as Goat's Breath Bock, What the Gent on the Floor is Having Ale, Old Crustacean, and Dirty Faced Stout. |
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