Craft beer sales up

Craft beer sales up

Posted: Mar 10, 2010 3:32 AM by John Romero
Updated: Mar 10, 2010 3:32 AM

It's a business that puts Colorado on the map. We're talking about craft brewing. Once a bunch of guys brewing beer in their basements, the industry is booming across the country. According to the Brewer's Association, craft breweries posted volume increases of 7.2% and sales dollars increases of 10.3% in 2009. Colorado was no exception. "We were up last year." says Bristol Brewing owner Mike Bristol, "In fact, we were almost around the same statistics nationally. We were up about 8% in volume."

The boom has allowed John Schneider, a Bristol brewer, to start his own company called Black Fox Brewing. He says part of the industries success here at home lies in the people. "This is a great brewing state." says Schneider, "The public is very receptive to openness and creativity." Bristol agrees the Colorado beer palate lets the brewer have some fun. "We're seeing a lot of people really appreciating the diversity and styles of craft beer." he says.

For Duane Lujan at the Rocky Mountain Brewery the increases in sales mean he can now start canning his popular brews. And as the beer sales continue to climb, Lujan and other brewers hope ultimately it means more jobs here at home. "We're creating jobs on the malting side, on the shipping side, on trucking." he explains, "The roots extend pretty far out there into the economy."

News First 5's John Romero writes a blog about anything and everything in craft brewing. You can check out his blog by CLICKING HERE