Ohio is among the top 10 states in the country when it comes to the economic benefits craft beer pours into the economy, according to new stats from the Craft Brewers Association.
Craft brewing creates more than $2.6 billion in economic impact every year in the Buckeye State, if you buy the CBA’s numbers — making Ohio’s craft beer economy the seventh-largest in the nation.
In some ways, that makes sense. Ohio has the nation’s seventh-highest population, after all — but it’s also a testament to how much craft beer the state produces and drinks.
The state’s 225 breweries (the 11th most in the country) produce about 5 gallons of beer per drinking-age adult. That’s about 1,355,000 barrels of craft beer a year — the fifth most of any state in the country.
Cincinnati has a bit role in those numbers. Roughly 25 of the state’s craft breweries are in the Greater Cincinnati area. And that’s not including the excellent and numerous breweries south of the Ohio River.
The number of craft breweries in Ohio has skyrocketed since 2011, when there were roughly 50 across the state. And if current trends are any indication — consider coming breweries like Walnut Hills’ Esoteric in the works — there are more on the way.
This article appears in Oct 17-24, 2018.
