A recent analysis of population density and brewery locations in the United States reveals that the majority of all Americans now live within 10 miles of a brewery. And given that the average American spends 25 minutes commuting to work every day, that’s plenty of time to drop-in at the neighborhood brewery.
“In most communities, people pass within a few blocks of a brewery every day,” said Ray Daniels, Director of Craft Beer Marketing for the Brewers Association. “But because so many breweries are part of a restaurant or small business park, many people don’t realize that breweries are a part of their community.”
During American Craft Beer Week, May 15-21, 2006, breweries all over America will welcome consumers with tours, educational tastings and special promotions.
An analysis performed in January by ESRI, the world’s leading provider of geographic information system (GIS) software, shows that 58 percent of Americans currently live within a ten-mile radius of a brewery. According to statistics published by the United States, the mean travel time to work in 2000 was 25.5 minutes. (See: http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/00000.html). As a result, 175 million Americans can pick up brewery-fresh beer in less time than it takes to check in with the boss.
“Today’s average craft brewery is nearly 1000 times smaller than the average brewery in 1980,” said Daniels. “While a single brewery could satisfy the thirst of millions of people back then, modern craft brewers each only make enough beer for a few thousand consumers.”
There are now more than 1300 craft breweries in the U.S.