What is a microbrewery?
By legal definition a microbrewery is any brewery that produces fewer than half a million gallons of beer per year. That sounds like a lot until you consider a single Budweiser plant can pump out close to a half billion gallons per year.

So a Microbrew is a beer that is produced by any brewery that does not produce more than 1/2(one half) a million gallons of beer per year.

1,409 craft breweries in the U.S. in 2002:
994 brewpubs
369 microbreweries
46 regional specialty breweries

The 2002 craft beer industry production volume breaks down into:
Regional specialty breweries 59.8 %
Contract breweries 18.2%
Microbreweries 11.8%
Brewpubs 10.2%

Microbrewery: A brewery that produces less than 15,000 barrels (17,600 hectoliters) of beer per year. Microbreweries sell to the public by one or more of the following methods: the traditional three- tier system (brewer to wholesaler to retailer to consumer); the two- tier system (brewer acting as wholesaler to retailer to consumer); and, directly to the consumer through carryouts and/ or on- site tap- room or restaurant sales.

Microbreweries of America
(If you want to submit a microbrewery that we have missed please email information to info@microbrewforum.com)

For more microbrew information please visit our MICROBREW FORUM