Which U.S. Cities Have the Highest Density of Microbreweries?

Mapping the complete transformation of the beer business in the United States.

1 minute read

January 3, 2017, 2:00 PM PST

The Bear Republic brewery is located in Healdsburg, California. | Bernt Rostad / Flickr

Joe Cortright takes stock of the current geography of microbrewing, with the help of BreweryMap.com and data from sources like Nielsen, the Brewers Association, and Scarborough Research.

The question organizing Cortright's thinking in the post: Which cities have the greatest density of microbreweries? Confining the parameters of the study of brewery density to microbreweries located within five miles of city centers, Cortright produces a perhaps unsurprising list for beer aficionados: Portland has the highest density of microbreweries, followed by Denver and Seattle. On the other end of the spectrum, Virginia Beach and Hartford have the lowest densities of microbreweries.

Cortright begins with a discussion of the history of brewing businesses since prohibition, describing the vast changes in business of beer. Planetizen also noted the economic development potential of breweries back in 2012.

FULL STORY: Beer and cities: A toast to 2017

Monday, January 2, 2017 in City Observatory

Community / Economic Development United States Oregon Breweries Microbreweries Local Business View More

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