Beer lovers outside of Michigan are taking note of our state’s craft brews.

Michigan was listed as number 5 on USA Today's list of the 10 best craft brew states in the country.

"Michigan is quickly moving up the ladder in the world of craft beers with over 100 breweries in the state," according to 10Best, a division of USA Today's Travel section. "You may not find the big name craft brews of other states, but what you will find is some hidden gems -- and maybe your new favorite -- at local institutions like Bells Brewery and Founders Brewery."

The states on the list are ordered by the number of craft breweries. It lists Michigan as having 102 craft breweries, but that number is subject to interpretation. The Michigan Brewers Guild pegs the total at more than 130.

"It's the great beer state," guild Executive Director Scott Graham said on Monday in response to the latest recognition.

Graham joined leaders from New Holland Brewing Co. and Founders Brewing Co. for a discussion about the state's craft beer industry during the Pure Michigan Governor's Conference on Tourism in Detroit last week.

The industry has exploded in the last few decades, going from just a few craft breweries in the early 1990s to more than 100 today.

"You're never more than an hour away from a brewery in the state of Michigan" New Holland Brewing Co.'s Fred Bueltmann said during the conference last week.

The volume of Michigan-made craft beer sold in Michigan grew 16 percent last year, comprising about 4 percent of the state's beer market, Graham said.

Nationally, craft beer accounts for 6.5 percent of the total beer market, according to the Brewers Association, a national trade group.

Graham wants Michigan beers to gain a 10 percent market share in the state.

"I think there's tremendous room for continued growth and I think that everybody's going to see more local brew pubs emerge in their areas if they don't already have them, and I think you're going to see the Michigan brewers continue to be very successful with their efforts both in their operations at home and through the distribution channels in Michigan and beyond," Graham said.

The industry's success is not just reliant on the number of breweries, but on the quality of the beer, said Dave Engbers, co-owner of Founders Brewing Co. in Grand Rapids.

"People continually say, 'What's going on in Michigan? You guys have some of the best beer in the world,'" he said. "And there's no doubt about it."

Related: Bell's Brewery seeks to buy property in Upper Peninsula for new manufacturing facility

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Email Melissa Anders at manders@mlive.com. Follow her on Google+ and Twitter: @MelissaDAnders. Download the MLive app for iPhone and Android.