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In the late 1970s, there were 89 total breweries operating in the United States— the lowest number in the history of the country as long as you ignore that whole “Prohibition” thing. However, in 1979, Jimmy Carter signed a law that officially legalized homebrewing, a decision that would eventually lead to the explosion of the craft beer movement.
Since then, the number of breweries has only continued to increase, and as of 2016 there were more than 5,300 places pumping out a steady supply of beer. While some people think the increase in microbreweries is a bubble waiting to pop, it doesn’t seem like that number is going to decline dramatically anytime soon.
While macro breweries still have a stranglehold on the market, comparatively smaller breweries have steadily narrowed the gap in the past decade or so. Nothing proves this more than the map of the beer makers that are most frequently searched for by drinkers in each state around the country that was put together by Business Broker Network. You might expect Big Beer to take the crown in most places, but it turns out that people in Missouri are the only ones who are curious about a company that pumps out more than 6 million barrels per year.
Business Broker Network
As someone who uses an interest in craft beer to justify drinking a bit more than I probably should, plenty of these results make a lot of sense— although there are a few I find fairly interesting. When you consider how passionate Wisconsinites seem to be about New Glarus, I’m surprised that it wasn’t the most popular search, and as a former Rhode Islander who’s been thrilled to see Narragansett unseat PBR as the cheap hipster beer of choice, I’m kind of disappointed it didn’t make the cut.
There’s virtually no chance craft beer will ever be able to compete with the international conglomerates with seemingly unlimited marketing budgets, but if you’re a craft beer fan, this map has to give you at least a little bit of hope.