CEO DATELINE - Brewers Association: More breweries in U.S. than any time since 19th century
CEO DATELINE - Brewers Association: More breweries in U.S. than any time since 19th century
- September 29, 2015 |
- Walt Williams
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There are now more than 4,000 active beer breweries in the U.S., which may be the most since the 1870s, according to the Brewers Association.
Small breweries have undergone a resurgence in recent years and have accounted for much of the growth in the beer industry. The Brewers Association noted that its database recently added its 4,000th active brewery—1,000 more than just two years ago.
Does that mean there could soon be more breweries in the U.S. than ever before? The association said that precise numbers for the 19th century are difficult to obtain because of spotty records. But it cited an IRS report finding 2,830 "ale and larger breweries in operation" in 1880, which the authors noted was down from 4,131 breweries in 1873.
"There are now breweries in more than 2,000 unique cities across all 50 states," Brewers Association Chief Economist Bart Watson wrote in a blog post. " At the same time, there are also nearly 1,000 cities with a population of more than 10,000 that don't have a local brewery yet, and numerous neighborhoods in larger cities without a local brewpub or taproom. As America's beer culture continues to deepen and spread, there are still ample opportunities for well-differentiated, high-quality entrants."
To put the current numbers in perspective, Watson noted there were only 100 breweries in the U.S. during the late 1970s. http://bit.ly/1jumqaR
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