These are the 10 most popular beers in the world and they aren't what many Americans would expec -

The most popular beers in the world aren't necessarily the ones most Americans would expect.

Globally, the beer industry sold $661 billion worth of beer in 2017. While craft beer is on the rise, it makes up just a tiny percentage of those sales.

Instead, the biggest brands in beer dominate the industry. The top 50 biggest beer brands in the world account for 48% of beer consumption, according to a report by Bank of America Merill Lynch.

And, some of these mega-brands are names that Americans have likely never heard of, much less tasted. Of the 10 most-popular beers in the world, half are nearly unknown in the United States.

Here were the 10 biggest brands in beer in 2017, according to global sales by volume as estimated by GlobalData Consumer:

Estimated 2017 hectoliters: 28.8 million

8. Yanjing

Estimated 2017 hectoliters: 29.7 million

Yanjing is a Chinese brand that was created in 1980. In the first half of 2018, Yanjing Beer reported revenue of HK$6.64 billion during the period, or roughly $850 million, a year-on-year increase of 8.9%.

6. Heineken

Estimated 2017 hectoliters: 34.3 million

While Dutch brewer Heineken's namesake beer is in the top 10 biggest beer brands in the world, the company is increasingly dabbling in some unexpected brews in 2018.

Estimated 2017 hectoliters: 35.1 million

Skol was crafted by a combination of British, Canadian, Swedish, and Belgian breweries, with the goal of creating an international lager. Today, the AB InBev-owned brand is almost entirely sold in Brazil.

4. Bud Light

Estimated 2017 hectoliters: 44.8 million

While Bud Light is still No. 1 in sales in the US, it's in the No. 4 slot worldwide. Despite its popularity, the brand has struggled to grow sales in recent years.

In 2017, parent company AB InBev built buzz around the brand with the viral "Dilly Dilly" campaign. However, it was unable to stop the continue negative trend in Bud Light's share of the market.

3. Tsingtao

Estimated 2017 hectoliters: 49.0 million

Tsingtao Brewery reported in late August that profits grew 13.4% in the first half of 2018, thanks in part to cost-cutting measures.

2. Budweiser

Estimated 2017 hectoliters: 49.2 million

The king of beers isn't quite the king of the world, but it is close.

However, Budweiser is struggling to stay in control. Anheuser-Busch InBev sales dropped by 3.1% in the second quarter as both Bud Light and Budweiser failed to grow market share.

Estimated 2017 hectoliters: 101.2 million

Far and away the most popular beer in the world is Snow, more than doubling Budweiser's sales by volume.

The power of Snow is drawing the attention of other beer giants. Early in August, Heineken announced plans to take a 40% stake in CRH Beer Limited (CBL), the largest beer producer in China and Snow's parent company.

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