This weeks #GOPCThread is devoted to taking a closer look at craft beer, a billion-dollar industry that has exploded nationally and across Ohio and is leading to positive changes in small-and mid-size legacy cities across Ohio.

Not on Twitter, the thread is available online, as well as below.

Greater Ohio Policy Center Read on Twitter

Last month, we highlighted @JohnstownOhio as part of our #OHCommunitySpotlight series, which gave us an opportunity to talk about their Medical Cannabis Program as an economic development strategy. You can find a link to that #GOPCThread here:

.@JohnstownOhio has bet big on medical marijuana as part of a forward-looking strategy to grow their economy and increase jobs. This week on the #GOPCThread, we’ll take a look at another unconventional economic driver: craft beer

The explosion of craft brewing is a recent phenomenon. In 2001, the Bureau of Labor Statistics indicated there were only 396 brewery establishments nationwide, but the industry grew sevenfold, with 2,843 breweries registered in 2016 #GOPCThread

.@BrewersAssoc estimates that there were only 45 craft breweries in #Ohio in 2011. Now, there are 366 craft breweries operating, with 47 breweries opening last year and 73 more in planning #GOPCThread

Ohio ranks no. 5 in craft beer production nationwide (and no. 11 in craft beer consumption 😉) #GOPCThread

According to @BrewersAssoc, small and independent craft brewers contributed $62.1 billion to the US economy in 2020, including a $2.5 billion output in #Ohio alone #GOPCThread

Craft breweries produce & serve craft beer, their businesses employ several people, breweries purchase materials like grains & bottles from other businesses, all creating ripple effects amplifying the economic impact of a brewery in a community (via @OhioCraftBeer) #GOPCThread

In an economic impact study completed by @OhioCraftBeer, craft breweries supported $880.7 million of economic activity in 2020, resulting in a total of 8,295 jobs and sustaining 5,577 households #GOPCThread

The craft beer impact extends beyond the breweries themselves. Ohio farmers are increasingly growing barley & hops for beer. #GOPCThread

Entities like @originmalt, which supply malted barley to breweries, have ambitious plans that will help increase the acreage of beer-related crops, again making direct contributions to Ohio’s economy.  #GOPCThread

And Ohio legacy cities with excess clean water, like Dayton, have been pitching their water as an economic development resource, ideal for water-intensive industries, like brewing and distilling. #GOPCThread

What was once old is new again: before Prohibition and refrigeration, Ohioans got their beer at local breweries. Ohio’s legacy cities and towns were built by European immigrants who worked hard and often came from regions with deep traditions in brewing #GOPCThread

Like the 19th & 20th C breweries, today’s craft breweries often catalyze development in the neighborhoods around them while creating community gathering spaces, generating economic impact every sip of the way #GOPCThread

Take @brewfontaine, voted the no. 1 beer bar in Ohio. Brewfontaine opened in 2015 when owners renovated a vacant restaurant in historic downtown Bellefontaine, OH (pop. 13,000) in order to have craft beer accessible to residents #GOPCThread

Or @BrewingPhoenix in #Mansfield, which opened in 2014 in a restored former funeral and mortuary home #GOPCThread

Breweries contribute locally by hosting community nights, concerts, and other place-making activities. Check out @alematicbrewing in Huber Heights, @esotericbeer in Cincinnati, or @crafttheculture in Central Ohio, all of which are #BlackOwnedBusiness

With more communities adding place-based entertainment like #DORA ordinances, craft brewing’s impact on local economies is well-positioned to continue growing. Find out more about DORAs on the GOPC blog #GOPCThread

Now that you know about all of the great impacts of craft beer and small/independent breweries, enjoy a guilt-free happy hour and comment below with your favorite local spot #GOPCThread