Beerconomics... Dayton, Ohio

The Dayton, Ohio region is blooming into a craft beer destination. As our fair city has weathered such financial hardships as NCR leaving, GM closing its' doors, and countless businesses folding, an economic resurgence could be on the horizon. And it could be fueled by Beer!

With nearly a dozen breweries and brewpubs around the region opening doors in the next year, why not embrace the economic benefits of beer.

Breweries add jobs, jobs add income to cities and the state, and great breweries add tourism. A brewery district in the city of Dayton would be a welcomed economic oasis for the region, relaxing the ability for such businesses to get licensing, offering tax breaks, and creating an attraction downtown like no other. The steps to cleaning up our city rests with the ability to make it a friendly inviting place to visit and live and this just may be the key to accomplishing it.

Cities such as San Diego, Denver, Philadelphia, San Francisco, and even Cleveland have embraced the beer community and have capitalized from it. Creating districts boasting multiple beer venues.

The economic impact of beer is astounding, and has worked for both city and statewide benefits. For instance the economic impact of Texas Craft Beer topped $608 Million in 2011, and could reach $5.6 billion within the decade, 


There is money to be made and plenty of vacant buildings to go round, and a city planned district involving some helpful incentives could lure existing commercial breweries to come to the area for expansion. Breweries such as Oskar Blues, New Belgium, and Epic Brewing have all attempted to expand their reach into new territories by currently building breweries in other States.

Is there a market in Dayton? Without a doubt! The ever expanding array of Craft Beer festivals in the area have tripled in attendance in the past five years, the explosion of new beer spots has increased, and craft beer in general has seen a market increase to over 10% of all U.S. dollars spent on beer, and in 2012 6.5% of the total volume of beer purchased in the U.S. was craft, up from 5.7% in 2011. 

What about the bubble? A highly debated subject among invested craft beer enthusiasts. 

In an article titled "No Bubble For Craft Beer: Industry Pioneer" 

Homebrewing pioneer Charlie Papazian was quoted as saying, 

”There are a lot of people that think we’re in a bubble and it’s going to burst but we’re not in a bubble. We are knee-deep in foam (laughing) and it’s rising all around us. By 2017, [the Brewers Association] anticipates pretty confidently that we'll have 10 percent of the volume, and at that point, the momentum will take us pass that.”

In my humble opinion, if we are indeed in the midst of a bubble ready to blow, it may bring people back to a more local-centric way of purchasing and drinking beer and weed out those who are unable to cut it in the industry which is inevitable as more choices become available.

To conclude my ramble, Dayton needs to embrace the economic benefits of beer, and in turn we can clean up our city and become a national destination once again. 

- Check out another great Dayton Beer Blog written by Kevin Gray Here