A report released today by the Brewers Association, the national trade organization for craft breweries, indicates that craft beer production is up, with a production volume increase of 18 percent during the first half of the year. From January to June of this year, approximately 10.6 million barrels of beer were sold by craft brewers, up from 9.0 million barrels over the first half of 2013.
The number of operating craft breweries is also on the rise. As of June 30, 2014, 3,040 breweries were operating in the U.S., 99 percent of which were small and independent craft breweries. Another 1,929 breweries are in the planning stages of opening, including a few here in Columbus like Pigskin, Land-Grant and Temperance Row.
The Brewers Association defines a craft brewery as meeting the following criteria: 1 An American craft brewer is small, independent and traditional. Small: Annual production of 6 million barrels of beer or less (approximately 3 percent of U.S. annual sales). Beer production is attributed to the rules of alternating proprietorships. Independent: Less than 25 percent of the craft brewery is owned or controlled (or equivalent economic interest) by an alcoholic beverage industry member that is not itself a craft brewer. Traditional: A brewer that has a majority of its total beverage alcohol volume in beers whose flavor derives from traditional or innovative brewing ingredients and their fermentation. Flavored malt beverages (FMBs) are not considered beers.
