States With The Most Breweries? Michigan Doesn’t Even Crack the Top 5
If we're not Beer City USA anymore then-- who are we?
Since first winning the prestigious title from the annual USA Today 10Best reader poll in 2012 the city of Grand Rapids, MI has been considered Mecca for beer lovers. According to Experience Grand Rapids,
beer tourism now accounts for a $38.5 million regional economic impact to the greater Grand Rapids area...A 2019 study estimates that local breweries attracted over 94,000 beer tourists during the study year, with 25 percent...from outside Michigan.
I remember when Grand Rapids' local craft beer scene was booming and the National Homebrewers Conference was held in town back in 2014; now that was a big deal.
At the time I remember counting at least 8 craft breweries within city limits and I thought even that was a bit much. However, today that number is more like 40 breweries all within a 30 minute drive of each other.
All this pomp and circumstance and you're telling me the entire state of Michigan doesn't even crack the Top 5 when it comes to states with most breweries?! How can that be?
An annual study by the Brewers Association examined the state of the craft beer industry in America for 2023 and they found we've reach our all-time highest number of breweries!
Last year, the number of craft operations reached an all-time high with a whopping 9,761 craft breweries, up from 9,552 in 2022. But despite there being over 200 more operational breweries last year, beer output shrank by about 1 million barrels
Drinking culture website VinePair compiled the data. See how Michigan's craft beer scene stacks up to the rest of the country below and check out the full graphic here.
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