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Posted 06.01.2010

State of the state: brewing

Beer fans will pay more for a little luxury in their mug

By Jay Dedrick

A year ago at this time, craft brewers were looking at their production figures and breathing sighs of relief that the down economy wasn't hurting them the way it was hurting others. Craft beer really was a product people were willing to pay a bit more for - an affordable luxury, even when the wallet's a bit thinner than in past years.

With the newest statistics from the Brewers Association, there's evidence it wasn't just a fluke year. Again, with a down economy, small and independent brewers enjoyed a 7.2 percent increase in volume in 2009 (compared with 2008) and a 10.3 percent increase in dollars. The achievement is even more impressive given that overall U.S. beer sales were down in 2009 by about 5 million barrels (craft beer's increase was about 614,000 barrels).

As always, Colorado craft brewers are largely driving the craft trend. A Colorado company, New Belgium Brewing, sits at No. 3 on the national ranking of craft brewers for the year. Other locals on the list: Odell Brewing Co. (Fort Collins, No. 33), Rock Bottom Brewery Restaurants (Louisville, 34), Oskar Blues Brewery (Longmont, 44), Breckenridge Brewery (Denver, 46) and Boulder Beer Co. (Boulder, 49).

Oskar Blues is one of three brewers nationally that's new to this year's list. The only two above New Belgium: Sam Adams maker Boston Beer Co. and Chico, Calif.-based Sierra Nevada. The Brewers Association, a national trade group based in Boulder, also ranks all brewers regardless of size, and New Belgium still manages to land in the Top 10, at No. 7 this year, up a notch from the previous year.

Consider that the No. 1 brewer, Anheuser-Busch InBev, has a plant in Fort Collins, and that MillerCoors (No. 2) has a little outpost in Golden, and it's clear that Colorado remains a major player in the beer world. Odell and Rock Bottom manage to make the Top 50 of the overall list, too, at 44 and 45, respectively. Odell's growth in production has made possible growth in its physical plant.

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