Yeah, I know you've seen the big numbers of the overall growth in the craft beer industry, but what about individual growth? Well, the folks at Beer Marketer's Insights have put together some numbers for the great state of Massachusetts. According the Massachusetts beer shipment numbers for the 2007 year, there were three companies that grew more than can be sustained, at a truly astonishing percentage.
First, we have Dogfish Head, who saw an increase in sales of more than 56%! I can only assume DFH didn't have a great foothold in the state in 2006, but still - that's a good number for the guys in Milton, Delaware. They finished off 2007 with just over 4,000 Bbl in sales.
Smuttynose, the brewers from Portsmouth, NH, grew an impressive 32.2% in the state, going from just over 3,000 Bbls in 2006 to almost 4,000 in 2007. Again, great growth for a small brewery, they must be happy with that.
Long Trail is a company I'm only becoming familiar with, and they're much bigger than I'd imagined. In 2006 they sold about 8,000 Bbl in Mass., compared to more than 5,700 Bbl last year - a growth of 38%!
Of course growth is good, but before calling this a post let's look at the numbers for the top craft brewer in the state, Boston Beer Co. Their growth was just over 13%, not as sexy perhaps as the other companies, but their other numbers are staggering. In 2007 BBC had more than 200,000 Bbl in sales - roughly more than a whole lot more than the other three I mentioned, even if they were combined. As big as their numbers are for the state, they still only rank in #6 for beer shipments in Mass. I guess that tells us once again just how big the industrial brewers are.
