THE BUSINESS OF BEER

ALTHOUGH THE craft segment gets all the glory these days, the beer industry as a whole remains quite a powerhouse. The Beer Institute and the National Beer Wholesalers Association recently released the Beer Serves America report detailing the industry’s complete impact on the American economy. The study, based on government and industry data, examines direct, indirect and induced spending, labor and tax collection. Economic impact figures, tax contributions and job data for each state can be found at BeerServesAmerica.org.
The report concludes:
• Overall, the beer industry contributes about $252.6
billion in economic output, which is equal to about
1.5 percent of the US Gross Domestic Product.
• Brewers and beer importers directly employ 49,576
Americans. More than 7O percent of brewing jobs
are linked to large and mid-sized brewers and beer
importers.
• The number of distributor jobs has increased by more
than 2O percent in the last decade, to more than 131,3O7.
• Suppliers to the brewing industry – enterprises that
manufacture bottles and cans, cardboard case boxes,
brewing equipment, or marketing displays, for example
– generate more than $83 billion in economic activity and
are responsible for more than 383,19O jobs alone.
• More than $48.5 billion in tax revenue is generated by
the production and sale of beer and other malt beverages.
This is equal to nearly 4O percent of the retail price paid for beer by consumers.