As America drinks more and more craft beer, brewers note that North Carolina's unique economic position makes it a hotbed for the growing market.
“There’s been a generational shift in the perception of craft beer as normal,” said Sean Wilson, CEO of Fullsteam Brewery, a Durham brewery.
As one of wine’s largest competitors in America’s casual drinking industry, craft beer has the potential to become more accessible and versatile than its age-old alternative, said Andy Miller, owner and operator of Triangle Brewing Company, a local Durham brewery.
“You don’t want to drink a beer with your pinkie out,” Miller said. “Wine carries a pompousness that beer doesn’t.”
The rise of craft beer has not only been inevitable, Wilson said, but has also accompanied the acceptance of beer in more facets of life.
“Beer used to be a tool to get drunk, but now it has a place at the dinner table and is integrated into families,” Wilson said.
Craft beer has experienced particular growth in North Carolina, local brewers note. According to the North Carolina Craft Brewers Guild, North Carolina has the most craft breweries of any state in the South, with more than 120.
"The craft beer demographic is 25 to 55 years old, is college educated and has a family income of at least $80,000,” Miller said. “There are a wide variety of universities in North Carolina that produce graduates who meet this demographic and stay local.”
Miller noted that North Carolina’s demographics are not the only reason customers have flocked to breweries. Other factors such as North Carolina’s beach and mountain vacation destinations draw in customers who are more likely to indulge in craft beer.
Wilson does not think that the popularity of craft beer in Durham and North Carolina is an anomaly, but rather a microcosm of a larger trend that is sweeping the nation.
“I think Durham mirrors the nation in a way," Wilson said. "There are more breweries opening and more restaurants that take craft beer seriously.”
Although the outlook for craft beer itself is positive, not all small breweries will be able to stay in business, Miller noted.
“I think we’ll see a reduction in the breweries in North Carolina because nanobreweries, or breweries that produce two to four barrels of beer per batch, are not sustainable,” Miller noted.
Wilson said that craft beer itself is here to stay, noting that its uniqueness and the novelty of pairing it with meals can make it a longstanding staple in American culture—especially as consumers become more conscious of the ingredients of what they consume.
“Craft beer is not going to disappear in a couple of years like Crystal Pepsi,” he said, referring to the flash-in-the-pan soft drink sold for a brief time in the 1990s. “Tastes ebb and flow, but I think what will [keep craft beer] around for the long term is that people are interested in where their products come from.”
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