Sanford Brewing in Top 10 of C.Fla. sales for craft beer manufacturers

Eight months after opening, Sanford Brewing Co. (SBC) is among the largest breweries in Central Florida.

Each month breweries file a gallonage report with the state of Florida indicating how much beer they sold. The June report, the most recent available, shows SBC broke into the Top 10 for the first time since its inception.

In May, SBC ranked as the 14th largest brewery in the region based on bulk gallons sold. The brewery sold 940 gallons in May, and 1,360 gallons in June, a 31% increase.

Wops Hops Brewing Company, Sanford’s first micro brewery, stayed steady in June with 439 gallons sold. The brewery, which operates a 3-barrell system versus SBC’s 15-barrell system, is just about at capacity and is planing a capacity upgrade.

Other Seminole County breweries of note:

Bowigens Beer Company in Casselberry reported sales of 226 gallons in June, down from 475 gallons in May.

Red Cypress Brewery in Winter Springs had steady sales in June with 1,116 gallons sold, down slightly from May’s 1,163 gallons.

Longwood’s Hourglass Brewery saw a substantial increase with 2,231 gallons sold in June, a 37% increase over May.

Just across the river in DeBary, Central 28 Beer Co. had a 12% increase with 512 gallons sold in June, up from 455 in May.

Central Florida breweries can report wide swings in gallonage reports from month to month. For instance, Croocked Can Brewery in Winter Garden tops the June list with 8,700 gallons sold. In May, the brewery reported 2,500 gallons sold.

“A lot of that depends on the sales to distributors,” said Chris Esser, a partner with SBC. “Our first sale to (distributor) Wayne Densch was 4 pallets of kegs. The next month it wasn’t that high. Those swings are related to how much you put in the distribution chain each month.”

In total, Central Florida craft breweries increased sales 22%. In June 35,189 gallons were sold, versus 27,551 in May.

Breweries pay a excise tax of 48 cents per gallon to the state of Florida, meaning Central Florida breweries paid $16,890.72, not including sales, property, tangible and federal taxes.

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