Top 30 craft brands, year-to-date ending March 24, 2013

Statistics can be skewed and presented in many ways to show a particular result. When a list is put out as the top 30 craft brands and does not include EVERY outlet where it is sold and purchased, it is flawed. If the list said it was the top 30 craft brands sold in supermarkets, it would be a great OVERALL list of brands sold in supermarkets.

 

It does say that - that is the meaning of "SIG data US food" in the article's title.

 

Oops. Didn't see that. I was just going by the title of the post.

 

It does say that: "SIG data US food."

Im not 100% sure of their definition of "food", but I think its basically supermarkets.

 

I didnt see that jess beat me to it.

Well, you get to hear it read it twice for not clicking thru to the article.

 

That's part of the problem. I did click thru to the article but didn't pick up the "fine" print. And even if I did I wouldn't have known what SIG data US Food meant.

 

Exactly. This pretty much makes this list NOT include most of CO sales and all of PA.

 

I would be VERY sad if that happened. Ruthless Rye is second only to Celebration Ale for me.

 

Bells had a big expansion that went on line last year around May. They added a new brew house and 14 of the style tanks that Two Hearted is fermented and dry hopped in. Two Hearted was capacity constrained before that.

 

Thats why you wait for jess to comment first. Not that it has ever stopped me.

 

But CO and PA arent useful in looking at beer sales in supermarkets then, so it still works out at measuring what it is measuring. Using it as an overall measure of the total market would be wrong, which the OP implied in his original post. But it is still interesting and useful.

 

I dont know how interesting they are...always it is clear that figures like these are mostly driven by a particular brewery's ability to market itself, rather than the quality of the product they provide.

 

As a human being, I find it insulting that Sam Adams Cherry Wheat is on that list. Who the hell buys that crap? Without a doubt, the worst beer on that list. FACT.

 

This looks like the best of the best that I see at the Big Chain grocer or Walgreen's type stores. Cherry Wheat is always in stock...

 

I'm not really shocked by anything, but I had no idea NB's Ranger was as big as it is. I always figured that Sunshine was their #2.
Cherry Wheat is a pretty popular item amongst people that don't really drink beer - the same folks that are drinking Smirnoff Ice, Twisted Tea, and some of those ciders that are questionably authentic. Cherry Wheat is far and away better than most of those.

 

Crazy how many brews deschutes has on the list. I love their beer, happy to see them selling alot of it.

 

A lot of hot chicks in my experience. Not so hot chicks too.

 

NG's case is really impressive.

Is there any other brewery without out-of-state distribution with such a high volume?

 

No.

It looks like, of the craft breweries that are larger than New Glarus, Alaskan is the closest, in that they only distribute to 14 states (according to seekabrew.com).

Bells is at 18 (same source) which is also impressive considering their size.

 

Founders goes to what, 23 states and is 1/3 the size if Bells. Founders is adding FL and TX soon.

Maybe you wear going for volume in a small footprint.