Nearly 45 people on the tour.

Nearly 70 minutes walking through the College World Series baseball venue.

Only two questions: why do they not serve local brews in the concession stands, and why do they only serve white wine?

As your husband and two sons recounted the events of the behind the scenes tour that they completed first thing in the morning, they were still shaking their heads about the only questions that were posed to the tour guide. As she explained to the group, there actually were some local brews available at some of the concession stands and the red wine products simply were not selling, your husband and the boys simply stood off to the side and took in the moment.

Craft Beers from Local Breweries Continue to Draw Big Followings

Whether are at a local baseball game or buying something from one of the local liquor stores, local beer continues to grow in popularity. In fact, some bars and local events draw an even bigger crowd because they feature a certain kind of locally crafted drink. As far as marketing goes, there are four distinct craft beer industry market segments: brewpubs, microbreweries, regional craft breweries, and contract brewing companies. Within each of these segments, however, there are hundreds of local flavors that garner regional, and sometimes national, appeal.
Consider some of these other facts about Americans beer and wine drinking habits, and the impact that these industries have on the nation’s economy:

  • Millennials consumed 159.6 million cases, or 42%, of all the wine sold in the U.S, in the year 2015.
  • Across the overall beer industry, small and independent craft brewers now represent 12% of the market share.
  • Totaling 4,269 breweries in 2015, the most at any time in American history, the number of operating breweries in the U.S. grew 15% that year.
  • 17% of all millennial wine drinkers bought a bottle costing more than $20 in the past month. This compares to the 10% of all drinkers and 5% of Boomers.
  • Small and independent breweries account for 99% of the breweries in operation in American. Of this percentage, 2,397 are microbreweries, 1,650 are brewpubs and 178 are regional craft breweries.

You can talk to 45 different people at a baseball game and they may have 45 different opinions about the best kind of beer, especially is they are from different parts of the country. As more and more local brewing companies try to market their products to a wider consumer base, however, it should come as no surprise that you can find local beers at sporting events, concerts, and other large gatherings.