The study says the brewing, retail and distributing branches of the beer industry in California contributed more than $13.5 billion ($13,561,063,500, to be exact) in economic activity in 2014. With growth will come more jobs and greater impact on the state’s economy as small breweries hire more employees to keep up with demand, said Josh Aubuchon, executive director of the Florida Brewers Guild.
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Craft breweries nationwide are on track to nearly double their production from just three years ago, according to a separate study released Monday by their national group, the Brewers Association.
The state’s beer industry also generated $1.7 billion in federal, state and local taxes, including business, personal and consumption taxes. “Beer is more than our nation’s favorite adult drink – it is a powerhouse in job creation, commercial activity and tax revenue”.
Eric Bean, owner-brewer at Columbus Brewing Co. and president of the Ohio Craft Brewers Association, wasn’t surprised by the findings.
Iowa brings up the rear with an economic impact of $3,283, 678, 100.
The Boulder Valley and Northern Colorado clearly play a large role in that impact, with the areas serving as the epicenter for the state’s craft-beer boom, not to mention the presence of Anheuser-Busch InBev’s brewery in Fort Collins.
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“We need to make sure that members of Congress understand our important economic impact to the U.S. economy”, McGreevy told Brewbound. Small means an annual production of 6m barrels or fewer, independent means less than 25% of the craft brewery is owned or controlled by an alcoholic beverage industry member that is not itself a craft brewer and traditional is defined as a brewer with the majority of its total beverage alcohol volume in beers with flavours deriving from “traditional or innovative brewing ingredients and their fermentation”.
