One of the questions we ask brewers when we do our NC Beer Buzz episodes is their opinion on the growing craft beer industry in North Carolina. In May of 2012, there were a little over 50 craft breweries listed in the state where now there are over 80 active breweries and a total of 95 that should be open by the end of this year. Is that too many for this state? Are we going to get to the point of over-saturation?

According to statistics by the Brewers Association, North Carolina isn’t ranked very high in terms of craft brewery per capita. What the hell does that mean? Warning! Statistics ahead!!! Basically that the northwest dominates the craft brewing industry, averaging 20+ craft breweries per millions of people. Highest states per capita are Oregon (42 per million), Colorado (42), Montana (41) Vermont (40), Alaska (37), Maine (31), Wyoming (30), Washington (28), Idaho (21) and Wisconsin (19) as of April 18, 2012.1. Where does North Carolina rank? The state was at 5-10 craft breweries per million. If you check out our Brewery Map, it seems like the state is filled but basically the three main cities, Raleigh, Asheville and Charlotte, have a higher concentration. Granted there’s a lot more land out west but population-wise, we’re well above. The number one craft brewery per capita state is Oregon and the population is almost 4 million. North Carolina’s population is almost 10 million and we’re worried about saturating the market? Vermont and Maine should be asking that question since their population is a fraction of North Carolina’s and they rank in the top 10 for craft brewery per cap.

Over-saturation happens when ideas run out and whatever opens up is just a regurgitation of what’s already out there. There’s a lot more imagination and ingenuity left for beer. The latest trends are beer-food matchups (hence our great NCBeerChef!) and Brew Pubs proving that they serve much more than “pub food”. It’s exciting to hear that a new brewery is going to open! What’s going to be their take on beer styles that got them motivated enough to invest in a brewery? In downtown Asheville, there are 5 breweries within walking distance of each other, with three more coming soon. That is a great pub crawl buffet of craft beers! It’s doubtful anyone can do that walk to each brewery and say “same beer, different brewery, let’s move on…”. I said it once and I’ll keep saying it – brewers are artists and craft beer is their canvas. The mainstream breweries have run out of ideas and now poaching what craft brewers do but I’m not buying it – mentally or monetarily.

North Carolina has a long way to go before the seams start busting with craft breweries. See what makes North Carolina craft beer great – check out a brew tour, go to a beer festival, have a night out at a brew pub, even go to a bottle shop and check out what North Carolina beers are available in bottles and growlers. Anyway you do it you’re supporting the North Carolina craft beer industry. Remember what Glenn always says – “Drink Local and Keep Your Beer Dollars in North Carolina”.

1http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Craft_Breweries_Per_Capita_(US).svg