Forward Focus: Booming growth, tasteful fun on tap for Michigan's craft beer industry
KALAMAZOO, Mich. — Beer drinkers have been hopping to West Michigan’s bars and restaurants for decades, seeking a mug of what many consider to be a taste of home.
Jenny Sowell, of Portage, is one of them. Sowell often frequents area breweries for her favorite, locally made beverages. She hasn’t always been a craft beer drinker but, she said, she’s developed a taste for it.
“What’s nice about craft beers, too, is they come up with a lot of seasonal beers, so a lot of new tastes that you can try all the time. That’s kind of fun,” Sowell said.
Customers at the Kalamazoo Beer Exchange agree, including Cooper Peters-Wood. He said craft beer has put West Michigan on the map.
“When I think of Kalamazoo, I think Bell’s,” he said. Peters-Wood’s friend, Ben Kassap, often travels out of state for work, and said he gets excited to see Michigan’s beloved beers served in other parts of the country.
"Anywhere I go, I’ll see beers from southwest Michigan. I’ll see Founders, I’ll see Bell’s, I’ll see beers from this region in Michigan,” Kassap said.
Roughly 10 percent of all beer purchased in Michigan was brewed in Michigan.
According to Southwest Michigan First, an economic development organization, the local craft beer industry is booming. Southwest Michigan First officials said they anticipate a 15 percent to 20 percent growth in employment in craft beer, manufacturing and distribution in 2019. The organization also said Kalamazoo remains the largest distributor of craft beer in the state of Michigan.
“I feel very comfortable with where we are and the levels of investment taking place,” said Ron Kitchens, the chief executive officer of Southwest Michigan First. “Kalamazoo County is number one in the state of Michigan in production of craft beer, so, other places may call themselves ‘Beer City’, we’re ‘Beer County.'"
Despite its successes, the craft beer industry has had some setbacks. The partial government shutdown halted operations at the federal agency that regulates alcohol production and distribution, which stalled beer labeling and licensing. And late last year, The Beer Institute called the Trump Administration’s tariffs on aluminum, a “tax on beer.”
Newschannel 3 spoke with Scott Graham, the director of the Michigan Brewers Guild, about the importance of keeping a finger on the pulse of current and future legislation that could potentially impact sales, manufacturing and distribution of craft beer.
Michigan is the fourth-largest hop producer in the U.S. and the 14th-largest in the world.
“Policy has the ability to dramatically affect our industry and member breweries, so we have to pay attention to what’s happening and make sure we have a seat at the table,” Graham said. “We also have to make sure we’re educating legislators about our industry, about what it means to us, how it can affect us, so that we can continue to grow and thrive."
According to the Michigan Brewers Guild, industry growth is happening. Graham reported 25 new brewers joined the organization in 2018, bringing its total membership to 256. The organization also stated that Michigan remains the fourth-largest hop producer in the U.S. and the 14th-largest in the world, and roughly 10 percent of all beer purchased in Michigan was brewed in Michigan. All are signs, Graham said, that the craft beer craze isn’t tapped out.
“If you’re a craft beer drinker and live in southwest Michigan, you’ve got a lot of fun to have,” Graham said.
Read more:
- Governor signs legislation expanding access to craft beers
- Aluminum, steel tariffs could raise prices, hurt craft beer brewers
- Kalamazoo Beer Week brews big business for locals and tourists
