The top five are led by No. 1 Lake Time Brewery, Clear Lake, Iowa, followed by Fins Big Oyster Brewery, Rehoboth Beach, Del.; Oak Road Brewery, Summerville, SC; Dreamchaser’s Brewery, Waxhow, N.C., and Lone Pine Brewing Co., Portland, Maine.
For a complete list of the 50 fastest-growing, click here.
Representing 27 states across the U.S., these small and independent breweries experienced a median growth of 163% with the median size being 1,350 barrels of in-house production in 2018.
Breweries on the list range from 50 barrels to more than 40,000, and grew from less than 70,000 barrels collectively in 2017 to more than 170,000 barrels in 2018. As a group, these brewing companies represent about 10% of total craft growth by volume for the year, and include 13 brewpubs, 35 microbreweries and two regional craft breweries.
“Even as market competition continues to increase, these small and independent breweries and brewpubs demonstrate there are still growth opportunities across a diverse set of regions and business models,” said Bart Watson, chief economist, Brewers Association.