GRAND RAPIDS, MI - For the ever-growing number of new craft brewers in Michigan, competition is fierce to land their bottle or can on a store shelf.

"It's becoming increasingly more competitive as we have grown the number of breweries in the state," said Rich O'Keefe, senior beer buyer at Meijer. "Today it's nearly impossible to bring in all craft brewers to every store in our locations."

In Michigan's "Beer City USA" -- Grand Rapids - the number of craft breweries has tripled since 2011. Not all of them distribute in stores, but many do.

"There are significantly more Michigan craft brewers, items by brewers and national craft brewers than other areas of the store - and all are vying for valuable positions," said Larry Pierce, executive vice president of merchandising and marketing for SpartanNash, about why the beer section is crowded.

SpartanNash's corporate-owned stores in Michigan include D&W, Family Fare, Forest Hills Foods, VG's and Valu Land.

That means buyers have to be extremely discerning when picking up new beers.

Now more than ever, buyers like O'Keefe are looking for an established demand for a new beer before putting it into a store. Meijer has 177 craft beers in its stores, 53 of which are from Michigan breweries.

"Especially in Michigan, we are seeing new breweries pop up all the time, and in an already competitive market, it's all about the demand from our store guests," Pierce said.

SpartanNash uses its craft beer experts to evaluate new brewers - and makes sure the brewery has the capacity to brew enough to distribute. Social media buzz is also important.

"We look at how well the brewer is doing in their existing neighborhood, and we listen for any buzz that is being generated by our customers in our stores and through social media," Pierce said. "We also look at scores from the beer rating entities like Untappd and Next Glass."

O'Keefe said he asks breweries to tell him what they're bringing to the table.

"One of the first questions I ask is, 'Why does a retailer need you in their store?'" O'Keefe said. "'What are you adding?'"

Meijer and SpartanNash both say they tailor the beer section at their stores to the local market - which leaves some room for a small local brewer to get into a store in their town. But the hyper-localization of beer is hard to manage, O'Keefe said.

"We have really focused on building a local orientation with our craft brewers and we continue to do that today - it's just become a point of saturation," O'Keefe said. "And it's a question of, what is the right brewer for our locations?"

But the beer-friendly culture in Michigan and the Midwest has outsiders looking to tap in - from national brands like Ballast Point Brewing Co., Kona Brewing Co., Alaskan Brewing Co. and Stone Brewing Co. to European beers too.

"I have received in the last two months more calls from European beer companies than in the last several years," O'Keefe said. "They want to get into the Midwest market."

Sales of Michigan craft beer make up about 34 percent of Meijer's beer business, O'Keefe said. At SpartanNash stores, that figure is about 20 percent, Pierce said.

To confront limited space, SpartanNash is planning to add cold beer space to 12 of its Michigan stores this year to expand its craft selection, Pierce said.

"It's important that the craft brewers of today and tomorrow have a strong plan on what their growth plan is for their brewery and in the state," O'Keefe said. "You can no longer expect that just because you're a local craft brewer that you're going to get into the store. You need to develop a plan to how to develop your brand in the market so the retailer sees the need."