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COLORADO BREWERS GUILD FACT SHEET

Revised May 6, 2012

Twenty-One great things about Colorado, the state of craft beer!

1. Colorado has 139 licensed craft breweries (85 brewpubs, 54 manufacturer breweries) withanother seventy-five breweries in planning.

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2. Colorado craft beer represents no more than 4.6% of beer brewed in Colorado; yet of the approximately 6,600brewery-related jobs in Colorado, roughly 4,200, or sixty-four percent (64%), involve craft beer.

3. The Front Range is the largest craft brewing market in the U.S. with seventy-four breweries in operation.4. Colorado is second with the most number of breweries by state in 2012. 25. Colorado ranks third in breweries per capita by state.6. Colorado craft breweries in the aggregate employ approximately 5,800 Coloradans.37. In 2011, Colorado craft brewers donated an estimated $1.2 million of value to non-profits.48. Economic impact of the entire Colorado beer industry on the state economy is an estimated $18.5 billion.59. Over ten percent of Colorado craft brewers export their beer internationally.10. Beer is taxed uniquely. Unlike other consumer packaged goods, there is both a special state and federal excise

beer tax. The federal excise tax on beer was collected to help fund the Civil War. The Civil War ended in 1865,

but the federal beer excise tax was never repealed.

11. In 2011, all Colorado brewers paid approximately $100 million in federal, state, and local taxes. 612. Colorado has the highest percentage (20%) of draft beer consumed in the U.S. 713. The local Colorado market is the largest market for Colorado craft brewers.14. Colorado, home to the aluminum beer can, fostered the move of craft beer into the can, an innovative

package for craft beer. New styles of cans are being manufactured in Colorado.

15. Colorado is home to approximately twenty hop farms growing hops for local brewers across the state.16. Denver hosts the Great American Beer Festival (GABF), celebrating its thirty-first year in 2012.17. Colorado brewers were awarded forty-five medals in the 2011 GABF, 37% of which were gold medals!18. Colorado brewers were awarded 27 medals in the 2012 World Beer Cup, the largest international beer

competition on the planet.

19. Colorado is home to five (10%) of the top fifty craft breweries.20. U.S. craft brewer retail dollar value in 2011 was an estimated $8.7 billion, up from $7.6 billion in 2010.821. Nationally, craft brewing is growing, 5.7% market share in 2011 and predicted to hit 10% by 2016.1

Colorado Liquor Enforcement Division, March 2012; Brewers Association,www.brewersassociation.org; Colorado Brewers

Guild,www.coloradobeer.org.2Id.

3CU Leeds School of Business, Business Research Division,www.leeds.colorado.edu/brd.

4Id.

5Beer Institute,www.beerservesamerica.org.

6Id.

7Id.

8Brewers Association.

http://www.brewersassociation.org/http://www.brewersassociation.org/http://www.brewersassociation.org/http://www.coloradobeer.org/http://www.coloradobeer.org/http://www.coloradobeer.org/http://www.leeds.colorado.edu/brdhttp://www.leeds.colorado.edu/brdhttp://www.leeds.colorado.edu/brdhttp://www.beerservesamerica.org/http://www.beerservesamerica.org/http://www.beerservesamerica.org/http://www.beerservesamerica.org/http://www.leeds.colorado.edu/brdhttp://www.coloradobeer.org/http://www.brewersassociation.org/