Craft Brew Crusaders
Belly up to the bar at your favorite Austin pub and you’re likely to find a bevy of taps from Texas breweries—Real Ale, (512), Saint Arnold, Independence, Live Oak—and the list keeps growing. The craft-brewing industry is exploding, representing 97 percent of the more than 1,800 breweries in the U.S. as of August 2011, according to the Brewers Association.
Even with that phenomenal growth, the craft-beer industry is still a small drop in the bucket when compared to other beer sales. “In 2010, craft beer made up less than five percent of the total U.S. beer market, and that includes all the beer made by the large craft brewers like Sam Adams, Sierra Nevada and New Belgium,” explains Michael Graham of Austin Beerworks. “Spoetzl [maker of Shiner beers] is by far the biggest craft brewery in Texas, yet their beer accounts for just over one percent of the total beer sold in Texas, and they’re more than ten times larger than Real Ale or Saint Arnold, who are in turn over ten times larger than everyone else.” Full article>>
