Guest Post: Craft Beer Infographic!

Today, we highlight the hard work of our friends at the Kendall College Hospitality School!  They designed this infographic.  Text by Matthew Zajechowski.

The craft beer industry has seen a lot of growth in the last decade in the great beer state, the Midwest and beyond.  Recent craft beer expansion can be seen all over Michigan, from the Kuhnhenns expansions to the growth of Greenbush.  New breweries are popping up throughout the state and the brewers build festivals continue to see growth each year.  The growth of craft beer can be felt not only throughout the Midwest but also throughout the entire country. Over the past thirteen years the number of food and beverage jobs has jumped over 25%. The number is impressive on itself, but when you compare it to the growth of jobs overall in that time period at only 4%, that number looks a lot more impressive.  These growth numbers caught the eye of the students and professors at Kendall College.  Assistant professors John Laloganes and Phil Mott along with students in the Kendall Hospitality program provided insight and knowledge into this infographic. They both agreed this was a subject they were both interested in researching and learning more about.  They looked into several aspects of the craft beer industry including: overall growth numbers, job and employment growth within the industry, food and beer pairings, taste preferences and also surveyed different demographics to see how their views compared on craft beer.  These findings are presented in the craft beer infographic by Kendall College.  I’ve highlighted some of the more interesting points below:

• Consumers were asked if they enjoyed the taste of craft beer.  36% of people surveyed said that they did indeed enjoy the taste of craft beer.

• Sales of craft beer has seen a steady increase within the last 5 years and is expected to grow even more within the next 5 years. In 2007 craft beer sales equaled roughly 5.7 billion.  Within 5 years that number doubled to just over 12 billion in 2012.  Industry experts are projecting that number to triple by 2017 to nearly 50 billion.  That is a large amount of growth in a short period of time.

• Craft brewers provide a good deal of jobs both in the U.S. and abroad.  An estimated 103,585 jobs are provided by craft brewers in the U.S. alone.  This number also includes serving staff in brewpubs.

• There are 2,403 open and operating breweries as of 2012.  That is the highest number since the late 1880’s.  This shows an enormous growth in the amount of small breweries opening up.

• Food and beer go great together.  Different beers are more appropriate to enjoy with different types of foods than others.  If you like drinking an Irish Red, try pairing it with a juicy burger.  If you like lighter less filling beers, opt for a salad or sushi with your beer.

• 45% of consumers would be interested in trying more craft beers if they knew more about them.  This shows the responsibility of craft breweries to educate their consumers on their product offerings.

• Younger people are more apt to trying craft beer.  Only 32% of baby boomers say they prefer the taste of craft beer.  If you look at the millenials' demographic, you see a rise to 43% that say they prefer the taste of beer.