By now it’s probably no surprise: people love to drink at brewery taprooms.

The opportunity to get fresh, from-the-source beer is always a big draw, but there’s certainly an additional layer of excitement about visiting the physical space itself. It’s a deeper connection to the liquid in the glass.

In many places, it’s also simply part of the drinking culture.

Recently, the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) released a new set of statistics related to beer: the aggregated data of sales state-by-state. The information includes numbers from 2010 to 2015, highlighting the breakdown of sales related to bottles and cans, barrels and kegs and “premise use,” the stuff that’s sold on-site and tracked by the TTB. This particularly relates to the “rise of own-premise” business models I wrote about for Good Beer Hunting.

Because of the qualitative and quantitative evidence that consistently appears related to greater customer interest in on-site drinking, I wanted to see if parsing the numbers might offer any new insight into how things look on a state-by-state basis.

Programming note: because of quirky interpretations of policies, business practices and state law, numbers reported to the TTB may not always be 100 percent, guaranteed accurate. In conversation with Bart Watson, the Brewers Association’s economist, he pointed out to me that reported premise use numbers are likely lower than reality. All the same, I’m taking the figures at face value for purposes of this post because it’s the data presented.

Cultural Impact

It’s impossible to deny that in several states, the act of going straight to the source for beer has become part of the culture for local residents. We often hear about people living in San Diego, for instance, taking advantage of the more than 100 beer-making businesses in the county alone. To put actual numbers to this, I pulled the information for states we may most closely associate with this behavior, using Brewers Association-defined craft breweries..

For example, here’s the data from California:

2014 2015 Percent Growth No. of breweries 431 518 20% Own-premise barrels sold 66,582.57 121,961.79 83%

Perhaps it should come as no surprise that Golden State drinkers keep California as the top premise-use sales state in the country, a number that is certain to grow as it surpassed 700 total in-state breweries this past summer.

But what’s really interesting is California’s comparison to another beer-loving state. Despite having roughly half the number of breweries in 2015, Colorado had nearly identical on-site sales:

2014 2015 Percent Growth No. of breweries 235 284 21% Own-premise barrels sold 75,759.99 120,964.79 60%

Maybe it’s all those biking trails that lead straight to breweries?

Those state figures may not come as anything new, but what really interested me were states that might also attract a large number of tourists. In a previous post, I highlighted the very real financial impact of beer tourism, which is most definitely felt in states like Oregon:

In the most recent (2014) survey by Travel Portland, a tourism office for the Oregon city, results showed that 11 percent of US adults visited Portland for a leisure trip in 2013 or 2014 … Among those who visited, 68 percent participated in some beer-related experience.

Despite just a 5.5 percent growth in number of breweries from 2014 to 2015, own-premise sales more than doubled:

2014 2015 Percent Growth No. of breweries 216 228 5.50% Own-premise barrels sold 35,542.33 86,834.95 144%

You can also find this kind of drastic contrast in Vermont, land of Hill Farmstead and Heady Topper:

2014 2015 Percent Growth No. of breweries 40 44 10% Own-premise barrels sold 2,786.29 10,846.17 289%

And to a lesser extent, Washington:

2014 2015 Percent Growth No. of breweries 256 305 19% Own-premise barrels sold 18,363.50 43,219.71 135%

And here’s a fun and perhaps unexpected one, Montana:

2014 2015 Percent Growth No. of breweries 44 49 11% Own-premise barrels sold 6,203.14 26,374.60 325%

A common denominator for all these states would certainly be their unique beer cultures, which are deep and ingrained in each state’s connection to food, beverage and “what’s local.” Some of these brewery numbers are so large, the percentage growth remains relatively low, but there’s no denying how impressive the actual sale of pints looks.

Programming note: Because some of the jumps in on-site sales seem drastic from 2014 to 2015, I emailed the TTB to ask if any reporting or data collection changed. If I hear back, I will update this post with that info.

Growing Interest

While some states have always had great interest in their own beer scene, it’s easy to see that kind of attention spreading to other areas across the country. The number of breweries is growing everywhere and with it, the number of people checking out these new additions to their community.

To better understand this change, I tracked the top-15 states for on-site sales based on numbers reported to the TTB. Using all six years of data offered by the organization, here’s what a year-to-year chart looks like, highlighting the up-and-down shift of states. Note the key of this chart, which uses red to indicate a year-to-year drop, yellow to show an increased rank, but one for a state already on the list, and blue to show a new appearance in the top 15:

Obvious note on the quirkiness of reporting, as mentioned above, as Illinois somehow took over the top spot from California and Colorado solely for 2014. I have a note in with the TTB communications staff to help clarify this instance.

Aside from that, I’d like to draw your attention to the column for 2015, where we see four new states appear in the top-15. This is an important aspect to recognize, as it clearly helps illustrate the new brewery and beer cultures expanding in states like Texas, Florida and others.

Also, shoutout to Michael Uhrich for this addition regarding state-by-state growth:

.@BryanDRoth Very very interesting. My small contribution is "own premise" share rankings, some of which are surprising to say the least. pic.twitter.com/dtUcZnneZR — Michael Uhrich (@EconBeer) October 19, 2016

Adding Capacity

To help reinforce this idea, I pulled two collections of states to focus on the increased number of breweries, as reported to the Brewers Association, and the total barrels sold on-site at breweries.

From 2014 to 2015, here are some of the top states in terms of percentage growth of breweries, according to numbers collected by the Brewers Association:

State 2014 Breweries 2015 Breweries Percentage Growth Texas 117 189 61.5% New Jersey 32 51 59% North Carolina 101 161 59% Virginia 78 124 59% Maryland 40 60 50% Indiana 80 115 44% Minnesota 73 105 44% Arizona 53 78 40% Florida 111 151 36% Tennessee 39 52 33% Michigan 159 205 31% Pennsylvania 136 178 31% Ohio 110 143 30% Iowa 46 58 26% Wisconsin 97 121 25%

Additionally, here are the same states with percentage growth of own-premise barrels sold, using figures from the TTB:

State 2014 Barrels Sold 2015 Barrels Sold Percentage Growth Texas 9,848.20 62,622.83 536% Florida 7,140.24 35,277.93 394% Iowa 5,775.54 17,917.21 210% New Jersey 6,060.97 18,359.01 203% Minnesota 12,806.87 35,898.89 180% North Carolina 18,424.66 51,543.68 180% Virginia 12,526.11 32,092.47 156% Maryland 7,541.10 17,543.58 132% Ohio 13,732.61 31,530.96 130% Tennessee 9,264.57 20,735.79 124% Indiana 16,300.90 32,287.43 98% Wisconsin 17,984.10 35,039.17 95% California 66,582.57 121,961.79 83% Michigan 32,038.96 56,749.17 77% Arizona 17,667.95 29,762.28 68%

For fun, a look at those two lists side-by-side:

Brewery Growth Barrels Sold Growth Texas Texas New Jersey Florida North Carolina Iowa Virginia New Jersey Maryland Minnesota Indiana North Carolina Minnesota Virginia Arizona Maryland Florida Ohio Tennessee Tennessee Michigan Indiana Pennsylvania Wisconsin Ohio California Iowa Michigan Wisconsin Arizona

The key here is to better identify the places that are making the jump toward where long-tenured beer loving states may be. In the past couple years, Texas has certainly been a state to keep an eye on and these stats certainly emphasize that. As you go down the list, consider the states shown with new, hot breweries you’ve heard about.

The Pacific Northwest and West Coast have long been known as big beer places, but this collection of states helps to show why so many people are talking about just about every region of the country as something to offer. New breweries are doing some pretty great things, which is attracting plenty of people to not only open and expand these beer communities, but bringing beer lovers to the source. A lot of this has to do with growing interest, but it certainly also deals with modernizing laws in many of these states that for a long time impeded aspects of industry growth.

In the end, that final note will continue to play a pivotal role in how these kinds of stats grow and change in the years to come.

The Full List

In case you were interested in finding the data for certain states, the full list is pasted below. Note that the number of breweries per state, as shared on the Brewers Association website state-by-state, goes back five years. The TTB data goes back to 2010. In some cases, like Mississippi, data for a year may be missing.

2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 Alabama No. of breweries 6 10 13 19 24 Own-premise barrels sold 0.00 0.00 0.00 130.55 226.25 5,760.63 Alaska No. of breweries 20 22 22 22 27 Own-premise barrels sold 1,666.84 1,994.17 2,007.52 2,556.31 2,656.27 5,049.98 Arizona No. of breweries 34 45 47 53 78 Own-premise barrels sold 14,982.81 16,668.08 14,427.63 18,562.39 17,667.95 29,762.28 Arkansas No. of breweries 6 10 13 19 26 Own-premise barrels sold 518.25 535.25 524.00 558.14 776.12 1,319.67 California No. of breweries 270 319 381 431 518 Own-premise barrels sold 29,464.37 38,249.35 27,645.89 62,653.99 66,582.57 121,961.79 Colorado No. of breweries 126 151 175 235 284 Own-premise barrels sold 39,224.46 50,434.80 43,769.12 61,841.82 75,759.99 120,964.79 Connecticut No. of breweries 16 21 23 27 35 Own-premise barrels sold 695.72 1,006.90 471.10 2,411.30 2,076.35 13,478.12 Delaware No. of breweries 7 9 10 11 15 Own-premise barrels sold 0.00 569.00 0.00 3,051.08 3,089.73 5,981.02 Florida No. of breweries 45 57 66 111 151 Own-premise barrels sold 5,072.64 4,679.22 3,189.01 6,370.49 7,140.24 35,277.93 Georgia No. of breweries 21 22 28 40 45 Own-premise barrels sold 2,121.72 2,489.06 1,853.20 4,658.16 4,435.57 17,961.44 Hawaii No. of breweries 7 9 8 10 13 Own-premise barrels sold 1,329.75 1,367.08 1,134.11 1,972.63 1,380.60 4,234.55 Idaho No. of breweries 24 31 34 43 50 Own-premise barrels sold 3,783.23 4,994.57 4,354.86 6,006.63 4,573.66 13,792.75 Illinois No. of breweries 54 68 83 103 157 Own-premise barrels sold 12,011.12 15,552.91 14,890.69 25,269.76 91,945.35 44,535.02 Indiana No. of breweries 46 55 63 80 115 Own-premise barrels sold 6,072.24 9,611.42 8,564.63 15,006.35 16,300.90 32,287.43 Iowa No. of breweries 27 34 40 46 58 Own-premise barrels sold 3,316.93 4,356.60 3,593.09 6,175.74 5,775.54 17,917.21 Kansas No. of breweries 17 19 20 22 26 Own-premise barrels sold 3,461.57 4,906.29 3,403.46 7,451.96 7,579.47 6,540.63 Kentucky No. of breweries 11 14 15 18 24 Own-premise barrels sold 279.60 1,277.50 749.81 6,465.48 6,234.52 7,190.18 Louisiana No. of breweries 8 8 11 15 20 Own-premise barrels sold 1,775.20 1,536.07 1,606.10 1,723.51 1,579.10 5,933.60 Maine No. of breweries 34 37 47 52 59 Own-premise barrels sold 2,980.25 3,754.47 3,814.16 8,036.58 7,936.21 14,797.04 Maryland No. of breweries 25 31 34 40 60 Own-premise barrels sold 7,145.62 6,929.68 5,586.80 7,771.25 7,541.10 17,543.58 Massachusetts No. of breweries 45 49 57 61 84 Own-premise barrels sold 9,881.01 8,377.22 7,691.57 12,570.98 10,352.66 15,277.04 Michigan No. of breweries 105 122 131 159 205 Own-premise barrels sold 12,998.13 14,199.86 11,527.15 28,569.48 32,038.96 56,749.17 Minnesota No. of breweries 35 47 52 73 105 Own-premise barrels sold 1,715.22 3,058.91 1,238.71 11,110.35 12,806.87 35,898.89 Mississippi No. of breweries 2 3 4 7 8 Own-premise barrels sold 0.00 3.00 0.00 0.00 6,294.62 Missouri No. of breweries 43 45 49 55 71 Own-premise barrels sold 8,431.39 10,596.85 10,804.23 13,003.37 13,743.88 18,183.66 Montana No. of breweries 33 36 39 44 49 Own-premise barrels sold 2,708.02 3,042.40 3,236.79 4,373.97 6,203.14 26,374.60 Nebraska No. of breweries 18 19 22 32 33 Own-premise barrels sold 3,020.29 2,083.32 1,132.00 6,449.30 3,657.26 6,412.13 Nevada No. of breweries 18 22 22 25 34 Own-premise barrels sold 12,111.63 14,930.03 14,025.70 14,187.08 16,234.04 21,479.94 New Hampshire No. of breweries 15 19 22 26 44 Own-premise barrels sold 4,698.22 5,352.00 5,653.58 6,072.36 6,381.32 8,636.34 New Jersey No. of breweries 24 25 26 32 51 Own-premise barrels sold 2,120.18 2,293.27 905.64 5,280.34 6,060.97 18,359.01 New Mexico No. of breweries 25 28 31 36 45 Own-premise barrels sold 8,436.52 8,424.92 6,140.71 13,997.52 13,976.38 13,352.96 New York No. of breweries 75 92 165 181 208 Own-premise barrels sold 8,095.67 10,455.01 7,839.08 25,407.21 39,154.22 44,669.50 North Carolina No. of breweries 59 71 91 101 161 Own-premise barrels sold 11,792.64 12,674.72 12,987.41 22,091.10 18,424.66 51,543.68 North Dakota No. of breweries 2 4 6 6 9 Own-premise barrels sold 0.00 132.00 47.98 1,376.15 1,350.78 2,325.95 Ohio No. of breweries 45 58 76 110 143 Own-premise barrels sold 7,220.57 8,084.49 8,244.44 11,927.23 13,732.61 31,530.96 Oklahoma No. of breweries 10 10 13 10 14 Own-premise barrels sold 1,575.34 1,753.78 937.96 2,381.47 2,459.74 9,950.59 Oregon No. of breweries 124 145 181 216 228 Own-premise barrels sold 23,123.20 28,137.03 29,193.32 38,267.28 35,542.33 86,834.95 Pennsylvania No. of breweries 88 104 108 136 178 Own-premise barrels sold 13,405.80 20,844.85 17,818.02 32,031.70 30,646.77 41,040.29 Rhode Island No. of breweries 6 8 8 11 14 Own-premise barrels sold 787.84 902.50 716.47 830.80 987.13 974.43 South Carolina No. of breweries 16 16 20 31 36 Own-premise barrels sold 2,001.43 1,708.77 652.55 2,738.72 3,184.64 9,666.53 South Dakota No. of breweries 5 7 10 12 14 Own-premise barrels sold 253.50 165.00 0.00 913.96 1,433.02 1,802.72 Tennessee No. of breweries 24 30 35 39 52 Own-premise barrels sold 9,010.41 5,529.06 4,987.68 10,180.52 9,264.57 20,735.79 Texas No. of breweries 59 84 96 117 189 Own-premise barrels sold 4,914.36 5,396.15 2,356.02 9,709.23 9,848.20 62,622.83 Utah No. of breweries 16 16 16 20 22 Own-premise barrels sold 4,240.25 4,790.98 3,359.90 3,953.10 5,875.72 4,001.39 Vermont No. of breweries 22 27 29 40 44 Own-premise barrels sold 2,431.46 2,267.61 1,183.31 2,606.85 2,786.29 10,846.17 Virginia No. of breweries 40 50 61 78 124 Own-premise barrels sold 8,866.98 9,306.00 7,561.59 12,460.13 12,526.11 32,092.47 Washington No. of breweries 136 170 201 256 305 Own-premise barrels sold 13,847.68 15,650.91 14,729.64 17,833.16 18,363.50 43,219.71 Washington DC No. of breweries 6 6 9 8 10 Own-premise barrels sold 3,574.26 1,676.75 1,572.75 2,250.90 4,630.30 7,860.31 West Virginia No. of breweries 5 6 7 11 12 Own-premise barrels sold 0.00 0.00 8.10 422.15 420.50 3,759.35 Wisconsin No. of breweries 73 84 90 97 121 Own-premise barrels sold 6,506.06 10,881.64 8,332.10 19,023.34 17,984.10 35,039.17 Wyoming No. of breweries 13 15 18 22 23 Own-premise barrels sold 2,551.51 2,993.18 3,266.23 3,740.07 3,305.07 4,710.50

Bryan Roth

“Don’t drink to get drunk. Drink to enjoy life.” — Jack Kerouac