The number of American breweries topped 5,000 for the first time last year, with craft beer makers accounting for 5,234 of 5,301 U.S. breweries, according to new figures from the Brewers Association.
Just five years ago, there were only around 2,000 U.S. craft brewers, which the Brewers Association defines as small or independent beer makers. Last year alone, more than 800 opened for business.
Compared to those increases, changes in the overall American beer market were less dramatic, the industry group says. While craft brewers managed to capture $23.5 billion of the money spent on beer last year — a 10 percent gain over 2015 — their volume share remained essentially flat, at 12.3 percent of the amount of beer sold in the U.S.
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The old feed mill on this side of Laurel is a testament to this.It's being revamped to supply breweries with everything they need.
ReplyDeleteBe very careful, many many of these "Craft" beers are owned and operated by the giant brewery's.
ReplyDeleteI wonder how many of these will survive? In the past there were many breweries and most of them are gone now. I think this is a trend that won't last forever. I'll enjoy the selection while this lasts. There are many great craft brews out there. I'll buy one of these brews over a corporate beer any day! Have to be careful concerning this. Some of the corporate beers are hiding under a craft brew like Blue Moon which is made by Coors. The only corporate beer I buy is Yingling. Old brewery from Pa still making great beers and they supported Trump in the election!
ReplyDeleteThe trend with craft beers is that they all need to be very hoppy. Although I like a good IPA that has it's share of cascade hops, I would like to have some of these guys do something different, like a good Kolsch
ReplyDeleteCraft your own brew. Make it to your own taste.
ReplyDeleteVices follow economic trends. When the economy is down, alcohol and sweets pick up, people even down and out will spend on vices. Its a pulse on how well we are really doing overall and it isn't the best sign to see.
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