Colorado loses weight in new ranking of best craft breweries

For the first time in recent memory, Colorado is no longer home to one of America’s five largest craft breweries.

The new ranking of the best craft breweries by sales volume in 2020 – released Tuesday by the Boulder-based Brewers Association – includes just three Colorado beer makers:

• 6. CANarchy (Oskar Blues), Longmont
• 17. Odell Brewing, Fort Collins
• 47. Brasserie on the left, Longmont

Why is this important: It’s a major ego blow. Colorado considers itself the “state of craft beer”. But its stature on the list of best craft breweries continues to fade.

• Additionally, craft brewers are losing weight and economic impact (it’s a $ 3 billion industry here) as international companies gobble up their major players.

Between the lines: In recent years, two of the largest craft brewers have sold out to high bidders to cover the cost of expansions and grow even further. The sales meant they no longer qualified as small independent craft brewers, as defined by the association.

• For years, New Belgium has been in the top five for craft brewers – pride here in Colorado. But in 2019, Kirin bought the state’s iconic brewery, so it no longer appears on the list.
• That same year, Spanish brewer Mahou San Miguel took a majority stake in Avery Brewing.

Now Colorado is best represented in the ranking of the association of the 50 best breweries which includes international companies that own several brands:

• 1. Anheuser-Busch (Breckenridge), Fort Collins / Littleton
• 2. MolsonCoors (Coors / Blue Moon / Colorado Native), Golden
• 11. New Belgium Brewing, Fort Collins
• 12. Founders / Mahou (Avery), Boulder
• 15. CANarchy (Oskar Blues), Longmont
• 26. Odell Brewing, Fort Collins

To add insult to injury, an online popularity contest run by USA Today has just listed the best beer towns and ranked Denver sixth and Fort Collins eighth.

• Of the Top 10, I’ve done beer tours in all but two, and Colorado’s cities deserve a much higher ranking than the rest.

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