New Jersey has seen a 43 percent growth in its craft beer industry since 2015, according to a study done by the research company C + R. The state, along with Kentucky which has tied it with 43 percent, has seen more craft brewery growth than any other state.

C + R’s 2018 study was prompted by the growing number of breweries across the U.S. In 2007, there were only 1,511 craft brewery facilities in the country, according to C+ R. In 2018, that number grew to over 7,000.

C + R gathered data from the Brewers Association and the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau to conduct this study.

Eric Orlando, executive director of the Brewers Guild of New Jersey, thinks the initial push to encourage New Jersey breweries has paid off, and these numbers prove it. Orlando cites the 2012 legislation signed by then-Governor Chris Christie to give breweries the leeway to serve their products on-site and increase the amount of beer that customers could purchase (such as growler fills or canned packs) for consumption outside the brewery.

But that’s not the only thing Orlando sees as a reason for New Jersey’s brewery growth. There are now specific businesses created to market and promote breweries, such as national marketing agencies Beer Marketeers and Brewers Marketing, as well as local craft beer bus tours like Izzo's Brew Bus out of Succasunna and Brewtiful Tours out of Audubon.

Town legislators have seen that microbreweries can bring money and business into their town. Preconceptions that breweries would attract unruly drunkards and produce stinking smoke stacks has been for the most part broken. Towns, he says, are often eager to embrace a new brewery in a way they weren’t a few years ago.

“There are a lot more people willing to get a brewery off the ground,” Orlando said. “Your home brewer who maybe thought twice about it 10 years ago might consider it now that the ground has been seeded.”

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In other aspects besides growth, New Jersey is still on the low side of beer production and brewery openings, according to the study. New Jersey has 1 to 1.9 breweries per capita (or 100,000 adults over 21), while Vermont has 11.5 breweries per capita, the highest of any state.

The Garden State also has one of the lowest stats for economic impact. According to the study, New Jersey beer sales generate $251 per capita. Only six states generate less money than New Jersey. Vermont, again, has the top spot in this portion of the study, raking in $667 per capita.

Orlando suggests taking these numbers with a grain of salt. New Jersey has such a high population compared to states like Vermont that a per capita rating can be misleading. But he also says there’s room for New Jersey to do more. For example, states like New York and Pennsylvania have designated resources to promote craft beverages in the state, an effort Orlando feels could work well in New Jersey.

New Jersey also has a history of finicky liquor laws. In September, the director of the ABC David Rible announced a special ruling that limited the amount of events microbreweries could hold on-site to 25 licensed events a year, among other restrictions. Facing pushback from breweries, government officials and New Jersey residents, the ABC promptly reversed the ruling a few weeks later.

“What these numbers also tell me is there’s room for even more growth,” Orlando said. “The bill that got signed into law in 2012 launched 1,000 ships. We had about two dozen breweries, now we have over 100. If you have a well-thought-out plan to increase breweries in the state it will work.”

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