PORTLAND (AP) – Maine beermakers are reporting that production in 2004 jumped about 15 percent over 2003, giving them their best year since the mid-1990s.

Collectively in 2004, Maine breweries and brewpubs made nearly 100,000 barrels of beer, or 3.1 million gallons. The growth in Maine was more than double the 7 percent growth in specialty beer production nationally, according to the Brewers Association national trade group.

Craft beer – the type made in small batches using high-quality ingredients – is the fastest growing segment of the domestic alcoholic beverage industry.

“Just the sense I get from the industry now, there is a very positive feeling about what’s happening,” said Rob Tod, owner of Allagash Brewing Co. in Portland.

“We had to stop opening up new territories about a year and a half ago because we were approaching capacity,” Tod said.

“Distributors are excited again about the microbrew category.”

There are about 35 breweries and brewpubs in Maine, up from just a handful in 1991. They employ more than 200 people and generate roughly $55 million in annual sales, according to John Dunham and Associates, an industry research firm.

The Shipyard Brewing Co. in Portland is the state’s largest brewery. It has bounced back from the turbulence of the late 1990s, when more than 300 brewpubs and breweries went belly up nationally as specialty beer growth slowed to a trickle.

Shipyard, which sought to grow aggressively after a subsidiary of Miller Brewing bought a 50 percent stake in the company in 1995, saw production drop from 39,500 barrels in 1996 to 25,300 barrels two years later after it pulled out of a number of unprofitable markets.

Last year, Shipyard – which bought back full control from Miller in 2000 – boosted production to more than 50,000 barrels, a company record and up from 31,000 barrels in 2000.

Brewpubs are also experiencing healthy growth. Gritty McDuff’s Brewing Co., which has pubs in Portland and Freeport, saw sales rise by nearly 20 percent last year, said brewmaster Ed Stebbins.

“People are coming back and trying local brews,” he said.