USA, CA: San Diego County craft brewers produce more than 1.1 mln barrels of beer last year

San Diego County craft brewers produced more than 1.1 million barrels of beer in 2017, up about 22 percent from 2016 levels, according to an economic impact study conducted by the San Diego Brewers Guild and California State University San Marcos’ (CSUSM) Office of Business Research and Analysis, Brewbound reports.

The total economic impact of the craft brewing industry in San Diego County increased from $870 million in 2016 to more than $1.1 billion last year, according to the study, titled “Economic Impact of Craft Breweries in San Diego County Report.” The study also found that more than 130 San Diego-based breweries generated about $802 million in revenue last year.

More than $806 million of the total economic impact came directly from beer companies in the county that meet the national Brewers Association’s craft brewer definition: small (less than 6 million barrels), independent (less than 25 percent owned by a non-craft brewer), and traditional (a majority of total volume derived from traditional or innovative brewing ingredients).

Much of the industry’s economic impact in the county is derived from breweries in five cities — Carlsbad, Escondido, Oceanside, San Marcos and Vista — along Route 78 within the so-called “78 Corridor,” such as Stone Brewing, the Lost Abbey/Port Brewing, Belching Beaver, Rip Current and Mason Ale Works, among several others.

The direct economic impact of breweries in those zip codes totaled nearly $300 million, while the craft brewing industry’s total economic impact in the area exceeded $382 million.

San Diego County’s craft brewing industry employed 6,275 workers in 2017. More than 4,500 of those workers were employed directly by the county’s craft beer companies last year, with those workers’ income totaling more than $64 million.

Also included in the 20-page report was the latest “Craft Brewers Confidence Index,” a survey aimed at determining the confidence level of brewers in the county conducted by CSUSM students in conjunction with the San Diego Business Journal.

The spring 2018 index reading of 93 indicates a high level of optimism among the county’s brewers, who anticipate hiring more workers, investing in capital projects, increasing production and expanding distribution over the next 12 months.

“Anecdotally, various news articles have challenged whether craft beer has reached its peak,” the study read. “Clearly, craft brewers in San Diego County remain optimistic, despite these articles.”

Since the first survey was conducted in 2015, craft brewers’ confidence levels have only dipped below a reading of 92 once, with an 87 reading in 2016.

Nevertheless, the California brewing industry continued to crowd as more beer companies opened last year. More than 900 California craft breweries were in operation in 2017, and more are in planning. The Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) reported 1,106 active brewery licenses in the state last year, up 19 percent from 2016.

And as of May 2018, the study said 148 independent craft breweries were operating in San Diego County.

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