April 23, 2025 | Leave a Comment

The Biggest States for Craft Breweries (5 States Beat Colorado!)

Introduction

Introduction — Everyone knows Colorado has the most craft breweries, right?

Wrong!

As it turns out…

According to data from the Brewers Association and vinepair.com, Colorado didn’t even crack the top five states for craft breweries.

On to the rankings!

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Methodology

Methodology — The rankings that follow are based on data from 2022 at the above sources (thanks vinepair!), with rankings based on per capita measures – the number of craft breweries per 100,000 resident adults over the age of 21.

I did this to keep things simple and straightforward – and to ensure that we were fair to small states.

After all, if a state has 5x the breweries but 30x the population…that’s not really fair to the small state that still has more breweries per capita, you know?

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An important note

An important note — One thing you’ll find is that many of the states that have the most craft breweries also exhibit the most drinking overall.

(That’s not, you know, terribly surprising – supply and demand and all that.)

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#51: Mississippi

#51: Mississippi — Number of craft breweries: 20

Craft breweries per 100,000 adults: 0.94

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#50: Louisiana

#50: Louisiana — Number of craft breweries: 48

Craft breweries per 100,000 adults: 1.43

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#49: Alabama

#49: Alabama — Number of craft breweries: 56

Craft breweries per 100,000 adults: 1.49

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#48: Texas

#48: Texas — Number of craft breweries: 407

Craft breweries per 100,000 adults: 1.91

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#47: Utah

#47: Utah — Number of craft breweries: 44

Craft breweries per 100,000 adults: 1.93

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#46: Georgia

#46: Georgia — Number of craft breweries: 171

Craft breweries per 100,000 adults: 2.15

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#45: New Jersey

#45: New Jersey — Number of craft breweries: 152

Craft breweries per 100,000 adults: 2.19

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#44: Arkansas

#44: Arkansas — Number of craft breweries: 49

Craft breweries per 100,000 adults: 2.2

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#43: Florida

#43: Florida — Number of craft breweries: 396

Craft breweries per 100,000 adults: 2.31

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#42: Nevada

#42: Nevada — Number of craft breweries: 55

Craft breweries per 100,000 adults: 2.31

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#41: Arizona

#41: Arizona — Number of craft breweries: 129

Craft breweries per 100,000 adults: 2.36

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#40: West Virginia

#40: West Virginia — Number of craft breweries: 33

Craft breweries per 100,000 adults: 2.44

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#39: Hawaii

#39: Hawaii — Number of craft breweries: 28

Craft breweries per 100,000 adults: 2.58

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#38: Oklahoma

#38: Oklahoma — Number of craft breweries: 75

Craft breweries per 100,000 adults: 2.59

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#37: Kentucky

#37: Kentucky — Number of craft breweries: 90

Craft breweries per 100,000 adults: 2.71

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#36: Maryland

#36: Maryland — Number of craft breweries: 134

Craft breweries per 100,000 adults: 2.93

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#35: Tennessee

#35: Tennessee — Number of craft breweries: 154

Craft breweries per 100,000 adults: 2.93

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#34: District of Columbia

#34: District of Columbia — Number of craft breweries: 16

Craft breweries per 100,000 adults: 3.12

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#33: Kansas

#33: Kansas — Number of craft breweries: 67

Craft breweries per 100,000 adults: 3.17

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#32: Illinois

#32: Illinois — Number of craft breweries: 302

Craft breweries per 100,000 adults: 3.23

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#31: California

#31: California — Number of craft breweries: 957

Craft breweries per 100,000 adults: 3.31

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#29 (tie): New York

#29 (tie): New York — Number of craft breweries: 504

Craft breweries per 100,000 adults: 3.39

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#29 (tie): South Carolina

#29 (tie): South Carolina — Number of craft breweries: 134

Craft breweries per 100,000 adults: 3.39

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#28: Missouri

#28: Missouri — Number of craft breweries: 163

Craft breweries per 100,000 adults: 3.57

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#27: Massachusetts

#27: Massachusetts — Number of craft breweries: 203

Craft breweries per 100,000 adults: 3.81

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#26: Indiana

#26: Indiana — Number of craft breweries: 197

Craft breweries per 100,000 adults: 3.97

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#25: North Dakota

#25: North Dakota — Number of craft breweries: 23

Craft breweries per 100,000 adults: 4.12

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#24: Rhode Island

#24: Rhode Island — Number of craft breweries: 38

Craft breweries per 100,000 adults: 4.54

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#23: Ohio

#23: Ohio — Number of craft breweries: 402

Craft breweries per 100,000 adults: 4.61

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#22: Nebraska

#22: Nebraska — Number of craft breweries: 65

Craft breweries per 100,000 adults: 4.63

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#21: Connecticut

#21: Connecticut — Number of craft breweries: 130

Craft breweries per 100,000 adults: 4.73

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#20: Delaware

#20: Delaware — Number of craft breweries: 37

Craft breweries per 100,000 adults: 4.8

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#19: North Carolina

#19: North Carolina — Number of craft breweries: 392

Craft breweries per 100,000 adults: 4.94

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#18: Virginia

#18: Virginia — Number of craft breweries: 344

Craft breweries per 100,000 adults: 5.34

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#15 (tie): Iowa

#15 (tie): Iowa — Number of craft breweries: 126

Craft breweries per 100,000 adults: 5.41

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#15 (tie): Pennsylvania

#15 (tie): Pennsylvania — Number of craft breweries: 531

Craft breweries per 100,000 adults: 5.41

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#15 (tie): Michigan

#15 (tie): Michigan — Number of craft breweries: 407

Craft breweries per 100,000 adults: 5.41

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#14: Minnesota

#14: Minnesota — Number of craft breweries: 233

Craft breweries per 100,000 adults: 5.56

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#13: Wisconsin

#13: Wisconsin — Number of craft breweries: 249

Craft breweries per 100,000 adults: 5.66

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#12: South Dakota

#12: South Dakota — Number of craft breweries: 42

Craft breweries per 100,000 adults: 6.46

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#11: Idaho

#11: Idaho — Number of craft breweries: 90

Craft breweries per 100,000 adults: 6.47

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#10: New Mexico

#10: New Mexico — Number of craft breweries: 104

Craft breweries per 100,000 adults: 6.66

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#9: Washington State

#9: Washington State — Number of craft breweries: 448

Craft breweries per 100,000 adults: 7.66

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#8: New Hampshire

#8: New Hampshire — Number of craft breweries: 101

Craft breweries per 100,000 adults: 9.29

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#7: Oregon

#7: Oregon — Number of craft breweries: 318

Craft breweries per 100,000 adults: 9.8

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#6: Colorado

#6: Colorado — Number of craft breweries: 440

Craft breweries per 100,000 adults: 10.04

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#5: Wyoming

#5: Wyoming — Number of craft breweries: 45

Craft breweries per 100,000 adults: 10.53

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#4: Alaska

#4: Alaska — Number of craft breweries: 59

Craft breweries per 100,000 adults: 11.21

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#3: Montana

#3: Montana — Number of craft breweries: 106

Craft breweries per 100,000 adults: 12.54

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#2: Maine

#2: Maine — Number of craft breweries: 154

Craft breweries per 100,000 adults: 14.16

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#1: Vermont

#1: Vermont — Number of craft breweries: 78

Craft breweries per 100,000 adults: 15.59

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Summary

Summary — So, overall the top ten states for craft breweries are:

#10: New Mexico
#9: Washington State
#8: New Hampshire
#7: Oregon
#6: Colorado
#5: Wyoming
#4: Alaska
#3: Montana
#2: Maine
#1: Vermont

Notice how most of these states are pretty far north, and cold in the winter. Guess we all need something to warm up, eh?

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Summary

Summary — And again, like I mentioned earlier – when you look at a place like Maine, New Hampshire, or Vermont – they’re two of the states exhibiting the highest alcohol consumption overall…

All three rank in the top ten for beer consumption…

New Hampshire and Vermont are top ten for wine consumption too (Maine isn’t, for whatever reason)…

So there are some real regional variations here.

Which brings me to an important question…

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What do YOU think?

What do YOU think? — What surprised you most about the rankings?

Which states don’t pass your “smell” test?

Let us know in the comments!

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