Largest Lager breweries worldwide in 1890

Even towards the end of the 19th century, the largest Lager breweries were still quite modestly-sized compared to the big producers in the UK.

The biggest two producers, both in the USA, made only about three -quarters of a million hectolitres. Which was only around a third of what Guinness was churning out each year. And the largest on continental Europe, Spaten, wasn’t even making half a million hectolitres.

It’s a demonstration of how far industrialisation of brewing had gone in the UK compared to the rest of the world. The process had started way back in the middle of the 18th century with the big Porter brewers.

Note that two of the original London Porter brewers, Barclay Perkins and Truman, remained amongst the largest breweries in the world. With Barclays still double the size of Spaten.

Largest Lager breweries year ending April 30, 1890
brewery	location	hl
Anheuser-Busch	St. Louis	746,552
Pabst Brewing Company	Milwaukee	725,255
Joseph Schlitz Brewing Company	Milwaukee	499,418
George Ehret	New York	363,237
Spatenbrauerei	Munich	466,752
Lowen	Munich	430,288
Anton Dreher	Vienna	417,918
St. Marx Brauerei	Vienna	275,974
Source:
The Abbeville press and banner, (Abbeville, S.C.), 19 Nov. 1890.

Largest breweries in the UK in 1884
brewery	location	hl
Guinness	Dublin	2,127,570
Bass	Burton	1,636,592
Allsopp	Burton	1,391,104
Barclay	London	900,126
Watney	London	736,467
Truman	London	736,467
Source:
Document ACC/2305/8/246 part of the Courage archive held at the London Metropolitan Archive.