SweetWater Brewery posts a sweet 2009, ranks No. 28 on list of largest craft brewers

SweetWater Brewery is movin' on up. The 49,000-barrel Atlanta-based brewery was the 28th-largest craft brewery in the U.S. last year, up one spot from 2008.

Sweetwater, which says it specializes in producing "aggressive West Coast-style beers," was the only Georgia brewery on the list from the Colorado-based Brewers Association. On Wednesday, the trade group for small brewers released its annual list reporting the top 50 craft brewing companies, based on beer sales volume.

Even in the midst of a recession, craft breweries did well last year. They represent less than 7 percent of the industry's dollar sales, but the trends were strong. Craft beer sales grew 7.2 percent by volume (liquid) and 10.3 percent in dollars. The industry pumped out an estimated 9.1 million barrels of beer in 2009. Overall U.S. beer sales were down more than 2 percent, and imported beers dropped nearly ten percent.