The Harpoon Brewery is Named on 'Top 50' List

Craft Beer Segment – The One to Watch

Boston, MA – In 2006, while sales of large domestic brewers still lagged behind their 2004 peak, the craft beer segment continued to explode. Scan data from Information Resources Inc. shows craft beer with a 17.8% increase in supermarket sales for 2006--more growth than any other alcohol beverage category in the supermarket sales channel.

The Brewers Association, which tabulates industry growth data, reports that in 2006 77.7% of the craft beer produced was made from the top 50 craft brewing companies. Additionally, 34 out of the top 50 brewing companies in the U.S meet the Brewers Association’s definition of a craft brewer. Harpoon is ranked 9^th on the list of the top 50 craft brewing companies contributing to that growth.

“Beer made by small, independent and traditional breweries is definitely an American success story,” states Paul Gatza, Director of the Brewers Association. “There’s a change in lifestyle going on. People are trading up and that is what is creating such strong demand for craft beer.”

With just under 1,400 small breweries the segment eclipsed 6.7 million barrels in 2006. The fastest growing craft beer sector in 2006 was microbreweries (those under 15,000 barrels a year). Sales were up 16%, showing customer support for local breweries. Total craft beer industry sales have grown 31.5% over the last 3 years and early 2007 indicators point toward accelerating sales growth.

Harpoon’s sales were up 16% percent in 2006.  The brewery passed an important milestone when it surpassed the 100,000 barrel mark in December.

See the list of the Top 50 ‘Overall Brewing Companies’ Listed by Rank and State

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(Please visit http://www.beertown.org/craftbrewing/statistics.html for more statistics)

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The definition of craft beer as stated by the  Brewers Association:
An American craft brewer is small, independent and traditional. Craft beer comes only from a craft brewer. Small = annual production of beer less than 2 million barrels. Beer production is attributed to a brewer according to the rules of alternating proprietorships. Flavored malt beverages are not considered beer for purposes of this definition.  Independent = Less than 25% of the craft brewery is owned or controlled (or equivalent economic interest) by an alcoholic beverage industry member who is not themselves a craft brewer.  Traditional = A brewer who has either an all malt flagship (the beer which represents the greatest volume among that brewers brands) or has at least 50% of its volume in either all malt beers or in beers which use adjuncts to enhance rather than lighten flavor.