Tomorrow is National Beer Day, which is celebrated in the US every year on April 7 marking the day in 1933 that the Cullen–Harrison Act of 1933 was enacted to legalize the sale of beer in the US for the first time since 1920 (although it was limited to an alcohol content of only 3.2%) according to the Wikipedia entry for National Beer Day. Later that year, the Eighteenth Amendment of the US Constitution that passed in 1920 to outlaw alcoholic beverages was repealed on December 5, 1933, to officially end America’s first failed attempt at waging a War on Drugs (also known as Prohibition) that lasted thirteen years from 1920 to 1933. Legalizing alcohol in 1933 also ended the deadliest and most violent period in US history for America’s law enforcement officers when more than 2,500 police officers were killed by gunfire at an average rate of 180 per year, or once every other day during that 14-year period (see chart below).

National Beer Day is a great time to recognize the Amazing American Beer Renaissance! The top chart above shows the annual brewery count in the US from 1873 to 2021, based on data from the Brewers Association here. The growth in America’s breweries over the last decade, especially the exponential growth in craft breweries, microbreweries, and brewpubs, has to be one of the most remarkable small business success stories in recent history. Except maybe for the American energy renaissance and the recent exponential growth in shale oil and natural gas production in Texas, North Dakota, and Pennsylvania, I don’t think there are very many other examples of a rise in output or the number of US producers that can compare to the beer renaissance and the surge in American breweries over the last decade.

Here are some beer facts to consider:

• The number of US breweries last year reached a new record high of 9,247, the greatest number of American beer makers going back to 1873 when the Brewers Association’s records start and there were 4,131 domestic breweries (see top chart above). Amazingly, the record brewery count in 2021 is almost a doubling of US breweries in just the last six years since 2015 when there were only 4,847 breweries, and more than four times the brewery count nine years ago of 2,252 in 2011.
• The Brewers Association has a searchable list of America’s 9,000 breweries by state, by taproom (3,656), by microbrewery (1,837 that produce fewer than 15,000 barrels of beer per year with 75% or more of its beer sold off-site), craft brewpubs (3,214 that are restaurant-breweries that brew beer primarily for sale in the restaurant and bar), by regional craft breweries (222 with annual beer production of between 15,000 and 6,000,000 barrels), by large “macrobreweries” (84) like Anheuser-Busch and MillerCoors, and by brewery name. The database is also searchable by country. For example, there are 605 breweries listed for Canada (including 260 microbreweries and 214 brewpubs), 68 for Germany (including 16 microbreweries and two brewpubs), 65 for Japan (41 microbreweries and 10 brewpubs), and 56 in France (seven microbreweries and nine brewpubs).

• The Brewers Association also reports the number of craft breweries by state here for 2020 (data not available yet for 2021). The six states with the most craft breweries in 2020 were California (958), Colorado (433), New York (460), Pennsylvania (444), Washington (428), and Michigan (398). The states with the fewest craft breweries are Mississippi (12), North Dakota (23), Hawaii (26), West Virginia (28), and Delaware (32).
• Adjusted for state population, the states with the highest number of craft breweries per capita (per 100,000 persons) were Vermont (15.4), Maine (12.9), Montana (12.4), Colorado (10), and Oregon (9.6). States with the least number of breweries per capita were Mississippi (0.6), Louisiana (1.3), Alabama (1.4), Georgia (1.7), and Texas (1.8).
• Except during the “War on Beer” period from 1920-1933 (aka Prohibition), the number of US breweries reached a historic low of only 89 mostly “macro breweries” in 1978, before growing exponentially in recent years to more than 9,000 mostly craft beermakers last year.
• Following an increase in the brewery count of 382 in 2020, the increase last year of 363 was the lowest in more than a decade (since an increase of 160 in 2010). The increases in the last two years were much lower than the previous annual increases that averaged almost 900/year between 2014 and 2019 (almost 2.5 new breweries per day!). The pandemic slowed the growth of new craft breweries over the last two years, but the industry impressively still added about one brewery on average every day in 2021!
• From the Brewers Association’s 2021 annual report: “The Brewers Association today released annual production figures for the U.S. craft brewing industry. In 2021, small and independent brewers collectively produced 24.8 million barrels of beer and realized 8% growth, increasing craft’s overall beer market share by volume to 13.1%, up from 12.2% the previous year. The overall beer market grew 1% by volume in 2021. The retail dollar value was estimated at $26.9 billion, representing 26.8% market share and 21% growth over 2020. This growth is stronger than volume primarily due to the channel shift back to on-premise, which has a higher average retail value. Craft brewers provided more than 172,643 direct jobs, a 25% increase from 2020.”
• More from the Annual Report: “The number of operating craft breweries continued to climb in 2021, reaching an all-time high of 9,118, including 1,886 microbreweries, 3,307 brewpubs, 3,702 taproom breweries, and 223 regional craft breweries. The total operating brewery count was 9,247, up from 9,025 in 2020. Throughout the year, there were 646 new brewery openings and 178 closings. Openings decreased for a second consecutive year, with the continued decline reflecting a more mature market. Ongoing pandemic challenges and rising interest rates were additional factors. The closing rate also declined in 2021, likely helped by a combination of better sales numbers and additional government relief through the Restaurant Revitalization Fund, which was available to some brewpub and taproom brewers. “While the boom in breweries of a few years before has certainly slowed, the continued growth in small breweries shows the solid foundation of demand for their businesses and beers,” added Watson.

• My personal favorite beer is the Huma Lupa Licious IPA (pictured above) from Short’s Brewing Company in Bellaire, Michigan. The availability of Short’s beers is slowly spreading from Michigan to other states including Wisconsin, Indiana, Illinois, Ohio, and Florida.
• If you’re considering taking a craft beer vacation (“beercation”) in the US, Mexico, or Europe, here are some recommendations from American craft brewers in December 2017. And here are some more recent recommendations for “beercations” in November 2019 from Travel + Leisure. And CraftBeer.com (published by the Brewers Association) has compiled a list of more than 50 craft breweries with hotels, inns, campgrounds, and more in the article “AirbnBeers: Breweries with Hotels, Inns, Camping, and More” (see graphic below).

MP: Thanks to the thousands of American “fermentrapreneurs” who have revitalized America’s now-booming craft beer industry, we have gone from a long period of limited choice among extremely low-quality, domestic macro-beer “swill” options to unlimited choices today for extremely high-quality domestic craft beer, which has become the envy of the world. Especially for those who love IPA-style beers, I don’t think you’ll find a better beer of that variety anywhere in the world, compared to what you can get today in America at almost any liquor store. To modify Gregory Zuckerman’s description of the US shale revolution for America’s Amazing Hops Revolution: For all of the criticism the US has fielded for losing its edge in innovation, surging American craft beer production is a reminder of the deep pools of ingenuity, risk-taking, Yankee ingenuity, and “fermentrapreneurship” that remain in this country – the new United States of Beer.

There’s never been a better time to be a beer drinker in America than today, given the awesome selection of craft beers from more than 9,000 domestic breweries in every part of the country, with two or more added every day! Welcome to America’s Amazing Hops Revolution and the Golden Age of Beer – there’s certainly no “Great Stagnation” for the United States of Beer!

Carpe Fermentum

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