Craft beer guidebook to real estate
What every brewery needs to know about real estate
Thirty-six states have more than doubled their craft beer production from 2011 to 2016. Nearly half of those states tripled their craft beer production. More production means there are more market entrants and brewers expanding their production capacity. Warehouses and retail properties benefit from a growing craft beer industry that has more than doubled its total beer production since 2011. This is a nationwide trend that fills industrial and retail vacancies and reinvigorates local markets. These trends translate into a larger impact on the industry’s real estate footprint.
While overall beer sales remained virtually flat in 2016, craft beer sales grew by 6.2 percent, accounting for 12.3 percent of the market. This market share is significantly larger than the 5.7 percent recorded in 2011. Despite rapid growth over the past five years, the industry is expected to slow down due to increased saturation. There were fewer brewpub and microbrewery openings in 2016 than the previous two years, with a slight uptick in closings.
Craft breweries impact local economies with more jobs and increased revenue from sales taxes, licensing fees and other fees. According to the Brewers Association, the craft brewing industry injected $55 billion into the U.S. economy in 2014 and created more than 424,000 jobs.