The Business of Craft Beers and Microbreweries

THE BUSINESS OF CRAFT BEERS and Microbreweries Craft beers and microbreweries represent a nearly $4 billion industry in the U.S. Let's look at how the money flows along with the brews. BREWING A BONANZA The popularity of craft brewing has exploded, with sharp increas- es seen in recent years. Today in the United States, the number of craft breweries is the highest it has been since the 1880s. $99 billion Total sales of beer in the U.S. in 2012 13 million Barrels of craft beer produced in the U.S. in 2012, up more than 71% from 2006 $3.9 billion 2013 spending on craft beer = 1,000,000 • 200,028,520 Total barrels of beer sold in the U.S. in 2012 2,403 10.2% Craft breweries operating in 2012 (the Market share BEER of craft beer most since the 1880s) CRAFT BEER Near You Never fear – the surge of craft breweries means you don't have to put up with mass-produced, watered-down beer. Raise a mug to the brewery-est states in the U.S.: Total craft breweries by state NH 19 WA 158 VT 25 MI 122 O ND 4 MT 36 ME 37 MA 47 OR 140 MN 47 RI8 ID 29 SD 7 WI 83 NY 88 WY 15 CT 21 NE 19 IA 33 PA 102 NJ 26 NV 21 OH 58 O co 151 L 67 IN 54 DE 9 UT 16 CA 316 O KS 19 WV5 VA 48 MD 30 MO 45 KỲ 14 O NC 70 O TN 30 AZ 44 Ок 10 NM 27 AR 10 SC 16 GA 22 MI 3 AL 10 D TX 84 LA 8 FL 57 AK 22 HI 9 WANT TO TRY IT YOURSELF? Homebrewing can be the most cost-effective way to drink good beer over the long haul. Basic beginners' equipment kits start $80 around and ingredients cost about $25 to $45 per 5-gallon batch. WHAT YOU'LL NEED Materials Fermenter usually a plastic bucket with a tight-fitting lid Sink Ice Air lock and stopper to allow CO2 to escape during the process while keeping air out Thermometer Racking cane and tubing for transferring beer Bottles about 50 12-oz bottles for each 5-gallon batch ANITIZER Bottle filler to transfer beer into bottles Bottle capper a device to clamp bottle caps on bottles Sanitizing agent and bottle cleaning brush Cooking Strainer spoon Measuring cup Can opener Large pot Stove INGREDIENTS* LGHT DRIED MALT Brewer's Yeast CRUSHED CRYSTAL MALT 3Ibs 80z 1package light dried malt brewer's yeast crushed crystal malt extract 31в SUGAR BREWER Pellet Hops 1oz Northern Brewer cup sugar pellet hops Any other additions (don't go crazy until you know what you're doing) * Following Instructables recipe BREWING A BATCH Now that you've got your materials and ingredients, you're ready to become a brewmaster. Use a rolling pin to crush the crystal malt in a plastic bag. Then pour 2 1/2 gallons water into your brew pot, leaving at least 3 inches to the top of the pot. STEEPING Add your crushed grains. Turn on the heat to medium high and bring the temperature up to 150 to 155 degrees. Turn off the heat and cover the brew for 30 minutes. Use a strainer to remove as much of the spent grain as possible without worrying too much about a few remaining grains. 2 BOILING Bring the contents of the brew pot to a boil. Then, remove from heat and stir in the malt extract. Return to heat and again bring to a boil. Once you have a controlled boil, add about 2/3 oz of the hop pellets to the boil and maintain the boil for 60 minutes. Turn off the heat and add the remainder of the hop pellets. Cover and let the newly added hops steep for 10 minutes. 3 COOLING THE WORT PITCHING THE YEAST Pronounced "wert," wort is just another name for unfermented beer. Quicker is better when it comes to cooling. Pour your cooled wort through your sanitized strainer and funnel into the empty fermentation bottle. You'll want the total volume in the fermenter to Create a cold water be 21/2 gallons. bath in the sink to partially submerse the brew pot in. If that means you need to add water, tap is fine. Once the wort is at room temperature, pour half of the yeast package in. FERMENTATION 6 PRIMING Place the fermenter in a cool, dark place for 7-10 days. Boil 3/8 cup of sugar in 1 cup of water for 5 minutes. Cover and let it cool some, then pour into a sanitized container large enough to hold your beer. CALENDAR Now siphon yout beer from the fermenter into the bottling container, being careful not to disturb too much sediment at the bottom of the fermenter. 7. 8 ENJOY! BOTTLING You are ready to bottle your beers. Remember to let them age in the bottles in a cool, dark place for 7-10 days. Congratulations, you've just made your first batch of brew. Now kick Made er Ca he Made back and enjoy. SOURCES http://blogs.ocweekly.com • http://www.newyorker.com • http://www.instructables.com https://www.brewersassociation.org http://www.businessinsider.com ONLINE-BUSINESS-DEGREE.ORG