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Maryland’s Flying Dog Brewery climbs on list of largest craft brewers

WASHINGTON —  Flying Dog Brewery in Frederick, Maryland, ranks No. 28 on the Brewers Association’s new list of largest craft brewers in the U.S., based on 2017 sales volume, up from No. 32 on last year’s list.

The Brewers Association won’t publish exact 2017 sales volume totals until the May/June issue of its The New Brewer magazine, but Flying Dog had sales volume of 101,337 barrels in 2016.

Flying Dog is the only craft brewer from the D.C. region to crack the top 50, though No. 12 on the list is a familiar name: Dogfish Head Craft Brewery, brewed in Milton, Delaware, just outside of Rehoboth Beach. Dogfish Head had sales volume of 233,916 barrels in 2016. Its 2017 sales volume number will also be released in May.

Craft beer purists won’t agree that the largest craft brewers belong on the list — D.G. Yuengling & Son, Boston Beer Co. and Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. — but all three meet the association’s definition of what a craft brewer is. It defines an American craft brewer as small, producing 6 million barrels of beer or less; independent, or less than 25 percent owned or controlled by an alcohol industry member that is not itself a craft brewer; and employs traditional brewing methods.

For example, Pennsylvania-based Yuengling, the oldest beer company in the U.S., dating back to 1829, had 2016 sales volume of about 2.7 million barrels.

The Brewers Association’s top 50 list of Overall U.S. Brewing Companies is led by beer giants Anheuser-Busch Inc., MillerCoors, Constellation and Heineken, but the association notes that 40 of the 50 largest brewers qualify as small and independent craft brewing companies.

Dogfish ranks No. 22 overall. Flying Dog ranks No. 38.

The 50 largest craft brewers are spread across the country, but concentrated in the Northeast, Upper Midwest, Colorado, California and Northwest.

The Brewers Association won’t publish exact 2017 sales volume totals until the May/June issue of its The New Brewer magazine, but Flying Dog had sales volume of 101,337 barrels in 2016. (Credit: Brewers Association)

Massachusetts court hears arguments in lawsuit alleging Meta designed apps to be addictive to kids

BOSTON (AP) — Massachusetts' highest court heard oral arguments Friday in the state's lawsuit arguing that Meta designed features on Facebook and Instagram to make them addictive to young users. The lawsuit, filed in 2023 by Attorney General Andrea Campbell, alleges that Meta did this to make a profit and that its actions affected hundreds of thousands of teenagers in Massachusetts who use the social media platforms. “We are making claims based only on the tools that Meta has developed because its own research shows they encourage addiction to the platform in a variety of ways,” said State Solicitor David Kravitz, adding that the state's claim has nothing to do the company's algorithms or failure to moderate content. Meta said Friday that it strongly disagrees with the allegations and is “confident the evidence will show our longstanding commitment to supporting young people.” Its attorney, Mark Mosier, argued in court that the lawsuit “would impose liabilities for performing traditional publishing functions” and that its actions are protected by the First Amendment.
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