Which Beer-Loving State Has The Most Breweries In America?

People have been brewing beers for millennia, and not once in all that time has it ever gone out of fashion. While enthusiasts have long celebrated European brewers for their traditional craft, many Americans have developed an appetite for brews made right here in the US of A. And the good news is that no matter where you are, you're typically a short online search and a couple of miles drive away from your local brewery. Yet there's one state among 50 that stands as the title-holder to having the most breweries in the country: California.

As of 2023, there were 987 breweries in the entire state, according to World Population Review. To put that in perspective, that's over 400 more than the runner-up of New York's tally of 539 breweries! Unsurprisingly, with so many distillers working around the clock, the Golden State also tops the charts in terms of production, too, which comes up to about 3.2 million barrels a year.

This brewing success story makes perfect sense when you consider California's advantages. With 39 million residents, there's certainly no shortage of enthusiasts looking for a nice beer-tasting experience. The state also offers some of the country's most brewery-friendly laws, particularly regarding self-distribution. People can drive up to their favorite breweries and buy directly from the source, skipping the middleman. So the next time trivia night rolls around and something about "the brewery capital of America" comes up? You know the answer.

California's love affair with beer brewing stretches all the way back to the Gold Rush era of 1849 when the state's first brewery opened its doors to serve steam beer directly to thirsty prospectors. As the state's population boomed through the late 1800s, the brewing industry flourished alongside it, with over two dozen breweries working in the state from 1860 through 1870. These early pioneers laid the foundation for what would become America's most vibrant brewing scene all the way up to Prohibition.

And it's in California that the craft beer industry rose from the ashes of Prohibition, too. The first milestone was built in 1965 when Fritz Maytag rescued San Francisco's struggling Anchor Brewing Company and turned it into California's first craft beer brewery. It was small and production wasn't large, but it was a start. This bold move sparked a movement, inspiring other California brewers to follow suit with trailblazers like New Albion and Sierra Nevada (still one of the best Californian breweries today!) cropping up in the late 1970s and early 1980s.

From a modest start of just dozens of breweries in the early 1900s to nearly 1,000 in 2023, California's brewing industry is a success story in every sense of the word. And these brewers aren't just prolific, the state's craft brewers brought home 55 medals during the 2012 World Beer Cup, outclassing every other state and country. So much for American beers being "flavorless" and "close to water."