Ska Brewing – 25,770 Barrels in 2012 – Up 21.2%

DURANGO, CO- Ska Brewing Co., a seventeen-year old Colorado craft brewer, produced 25,770 bbls in 2012—a 21.2% increase over 2011 (21,257 bbls.) Dollar sales increased 20.4% over the same period.

The Durango-based company released its numbers on the same day The Brewers Association (BA), the trade association representing small and independent American brewers, released 2012 data on U.S. craft brewing¹ growth. According to the BA, in a year when the total U.S. beer market grew by one percent, craft brewers saw a 15 percent rise in volume² and a 17 percent increase in dollar growth.

Craft brewers reached 6.5 percent volume of the total U.S. beer market, up from 5.7 percent the previous year. Additionally, craft dollar share of the total U.S. beer market reached 10.2 percent in 2012.

“We’re proud of the industry for reaching 10% dollar share of the overall beer market, and we’re even more proud that we contributed .0719696% of that ourselves,” said Ska President and co-founder Dave Thibodeau.

¹The definition of a craft brewer as stated by the Brewers Association: An American craft brewer is small, independent, and traditional. Small: Annual production of beer less than 6 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 percent 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 percent of its volume in either all malt beers or in beers which use adjuncts to enhance rather than lighten flavor.

² Volume by craft brewers represent total taxable production.
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