With the United States economy problems, it was expected to see the country's overall beer sales down in 2009. And the sales were down, by 2.2%. However, the sales of craft beers in the United States went up a stunning 10.3% in 2009:

National sales of craft beer grew 10.3 percent in 2009, even though overall beer sales in the United States fell by 2.2 percent, according to figures released Tuesday by the Brewers Association.

The growth during the recession-hampered year was even stronger than the 10.1 percent sales jump that small, locally owned breweries saw from 2007 to 2008, the association noted. And it came at a time when imported beers in particular felt the sting of the economic downturn, with sales of foreign-produced beer down 9.8 percent throughout the country last year.

Craft breweries are defined as breweries that produce less than 2 million barrels of beer a year, are at least 75 percent locally owned and do at least 50 percent of their business in all-malt beers. There are 1,542 craft breweries in the United States, up from 1,485 at the end of 2008.

Link(Kansas City Business Journal)

I've gotten to witness the recent surge in the popularity of craft breweries myself here in Colorado. It's no surprise to see the huge increase in sales, even with these tough economic times. The amount of beer made at craft breweries is continuously increasing, and certainly the interest in these beers are as well.

People want good beer, and to try new beers. These numbers clearly show that.


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