In case you hadn’t heard, we’re in the midst of the first annual Connecticut Beer Week, and the theme is “Brew and Buy Local.” The week-long promotion, a collaboration of events hosted by brewers, wholesalers, retailers and restaurants throughout Connecticut, seeks to draw attention – and customers – to microbreweries in the state that make specialty craft beers in numbers that are growing.
About 17 production breweries and more than 35 bars and restaurants are expected to participate during the week, with events that include brewery bus tours, beer tastings and live music performances. The local events coincide with American Craft Beer Week.
Connecticut beer manufacturers, distributors and retailers are highlighting the state’s growing craft beer industry and encouraging consumers to buy local brews. One of them, Willimantic Brewing Co,. has served home-brewed beer since 1997 in a renovated post office building. It produces about 800 barrels of beer annually and runs beer dinners and other events to educate customers, the Associate Press reported.
About 2,300 craft breweries operate in the U.S., according to the Colorado-based Brewers Association. About half are brewpubs, which brew and sell beer on location, and the other half are microbreweries that are usually restricted from selling retail. The association defines a craft brewery as a facility that produces 6 million barrels or less of beer annually, is independently owned and uses traditional ingredients.
The state is also supporting the industry as an economic driver A 2011 law established the Connecticut Brewery Trail, which permits authorized beer manufacturers and retailers to display signs advertising their association with the trail. It’s intended to make residents aware of what’s available in their own backyard and to inform out-of-state travelers about the state’s home-grow beers. Road signs for the brewery trail have not been erected yet, but the information is available online.
There's more to the story at http://ctbythenumbers.info/2013/05/12/ct-beer-week-highlights-growing-local-industry-economic-benefi...
