USA, OR: Oregon brewers increase market share last year

Oregon-brewed beer dominated draft lines across the state once again in 2016, according to the Oregon Brewers Guild, which on April 19 reported that 64.9 percent of all beer served on tap came from an in-state producer. That’s up nearly 2 percent from 2015, when 63 percent of all draft beer sold in Oregon was made by an in-state brewery.

As part of its annual “By the Numbers” report, the non-profit trade association said Oregonians drank 707,000 barrels of Oregon-brewed beer in 2016, or about 23.3 percent of all beer consumed in the state. That’s up from the 650,000 barrels of Oregon-brewed beer sold to drinkers in 2015.

“Oregon is a consistent leader in the U.S. for craft beer whether it’s the number of breweries per capita, the percentage of dollars spent on craft beer, or the economic impact per capita by Oregon’s breweries,” Brian Butenschoen, the executive director of the Oregon Brewers Guild, said via a press release.

The Guild also reported a 4.8 percent increase in the amount of beer produced by Oregon breweries; in-state producers collectively cranked out more than 1.78 million barrels of beer in 2016.

As in-state production has grown, so too has direct and indirect beer industry employment, which the guild said now totals 31,000. For their part, Oregon brewing companies employed 9,453 people in 2016, according to Damon Runberg, an economist with the Oregon Employment Department.

All in, the Oregon beer industry has an economic impact of approximately $4.5 billion.

Other noteworthy stats from the report include:

$34.5 million: total crop value of Oregon-grown hops
19 million: number of people who visited Oregon breweries, pubs and tasting rooms in 2016.
3.04 million: number of all beer barrels sold in Oregon in 2016.
47,200: number of barrels produced by Oregon breweries and exported internationally
261: number of operating brewing facilities at the end of 2016
105: number of breweries in the Portland metro area

20 April, 2017