The U.S. beer industry reached a milestone this year, with a record number of breweries operating in the country.
The Brewers Association, a Boulder, Colo.-based trade group, announced Wednesday that there are now 4,144 breweries in the United States, surpassing the historic high of 4,131 set in 1873.
And the brewery growth isn’t expected to slow down anytime soon.
The association noted that there are more than two breweries opening each day thanks in part to craft beer drinkers’ appetite for locally made beer.
It also said that 15 states, including Ohio, now have more than 100 breweries.
“There’s going to be a continued meteoric rise in the number of new breweries,” predicted Ron Shea, whose R. Shea Brewing Co. opened earlier this year in Akron’s Merriman Valley. “It’s great.”
Ohio has seen a rapid increase over the last few years. At the beginning of 2012, there were 49 breweries in the Buckeye State. Today, there are more than 130.
The state has helped fuel that growth by lowering the cost of an annual license for craft breweries, and allowing brewers to open tasting rooms without purchasing a second license.
The Ohio Division of Liquor Control said last week that it had already issued 29 new brewing licenses this year.
The Ohio Craft Brewers Association says there are at least 50 other breweries in the planning process.
“Ohio has a rich brewing culture from the turn-of-the-past-century brewers who faded with Prohibition to the local beer resurgence with the current craft beer boom,” said Mary MacDonald, executive director of the Ohio Craft Brewers Association. “Ohio’s craft brewers are writing modern history one new brewery at a time, oftentimes in the skeletons of those breweries of yore.”
The Brewers Association believes there’s plenty of room for more throughout the country.
“There are still thousands of towns currently without a brewery — but with populations potentially large enough to support one,” association Chief Economist Bart Watson said in a prepared statement.
In its announcement, the trade group also noted that India pale ales remain the top style sold by independent craft brewers, and the style is growing faster than the overall craft category.
Rick Armon can be reached at 330-996-3569 or rarmon@thebeaconjournal.com. Read his beer blog at www.ohio.com/beer. Follow him on Twitter at @armonrickABJ.