Colorado’s craft-beer industry contributed a $1.7 billion economic impact in 2015, according to a new report, and now counts more than 350 breweries in the state.
The economic figure represents 48 percent growth from 2014, the University of Colorado’s Leeds School of Business reported in a study released this week.
Steve Kurowski, the operations director for the Colorado Brewers Guild, which commissioned the study, said Friday the findings “legitimize the craft-beer industry and show our influence on the state’s economy.”
More expansion is expected this year with 44 new craft breweries planning to open and half of the existing operations predicting 20 percent or greater growth, according to a survey of brewers in the report. “That’s pretty astonishing,” Kurowski said.
“It just shows that … craft beer is not going away in Colorado,” he added. “More people are being turned on to craft beer all the time.”
Craft beer sales now amount to 12 percent of the beer production in the United States, according to a March report from the Boulder-based Brewers Association, an industry trade group. A craft brewery is defined as an independent producer that makes 6 million barrels or fewer a year.
Craft beer accounts for 26 percent of sales in Colorado, a figure boosted by the higher price of the product. The state ranks third in the nation for number of breweries.
The outlook on growth is more cautious than a year ago, however, as craft-beer companies listed insufficient space and capital as obstacles, along with growing competition in the industry.
Colorado craft breweries employ 7,776 people in 94 cities with industry sales at $882 million, according to the report, which used a model to estimate broader economic impact.
The craft-beer industry is facing a shifting market landscape that adds uncertainty to its future, as international beer conglomerates begin to poach smaller breweries. In December, Anheuser-Busch bought Breckenridge Brewery, one of many recent acquisitions in recent months that sent shivers through the state’s craft-beer community.
Because of the transaction, Breckenridge is no longer a full-fledged member of the Colorado Brewers Guild, as a bylaw change in July demoted it to a non-voting status. The state’s largest brewers, including New Belgium, Left Hand and Odell, also split from the guild to form their own trade organization earlier this year.
