A study from the Beer Institute collated data from across the state and nation on the impact of the beer and brewing industries on the economy.
“The U.S. beer industry supports more than 53,869 good paying jobs in Georgia and contributes more than $8.6B to the state’s economy. Brewers and beer distributors directly employ nearly 210,000 Americans, and every brewing job supports another 31 jobs in other industries, including farming, transportation and hospitality,” the study reads.
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According to the study, the beer industry represents 1.6% of the United States’ gross domestic product.
“As our nation builds back from the pandemic, we look forward to returning to bars, restaurants, stadiums and concerts. Gathering with friends and family to enjoy a cold beer supports the hard-working men and women across our nation whose jobs rely on a vibrant beer economy,” said Jim McGreevy, president and CEO of the Beer Institute.
Augusta is home to two large-scale breweries, Savannah River Brewing Co. and Riverwatch Brewery.
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“There’s definitely been an uptick, especially with our distribution. Restaurants and bars opening up again and particularly at SRP Park, that’s all picked up quite a bit,” said Brey Sloan, owner of Riverwatch Brewery. “Everybody is just so excited to be going out again, and there are a lot more events, and that’s increased demand. Our biggest hit during the pandemic wasn’t in the taproom; it was in the distribution, the bars and restaurants.”
One unique hardship facing the brewery last year occurred when restaurants and bars shut down. All the beer already sent to those locations could be neither served nor preserved, and it ended up as a total loss.
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“Beer just all went bad. It was in the taps for so long, and the distributors couldn’t take it back and we couldn’t save it,” Sloan said. “The higher the alcoholic content in the beer, the longer it can last, if it is properly refrigerated. But everything that’s on tap has a shelf life, and everything went past its shelf life with the shutdown last year.”
Savannah River Brewing Co. also took a hit over the last year, but the recent weeks have brought better days.
“It definitely has picked up lately, both in the taproom and in distribution. We are selling more beer in the state of South Carolina than we ever have,” said Jim Christian, taproom manager at Savannah River Brewing Co. “We’re a very military-centric town, and as people have continued to get vaccinated, we’ve seen a lot of them lately which has been awesome.”
Christian said they also lost some beer sitting in taps and had to get rid of some unconsumed beer. He said that their distribution to grocery stores and liquor stores helped get them through the year.
“During the height of the pandemic, there was no way to plan ahead. There was no model for dealing with that,” Christian said. “Dealing with customers in the taproom in a safe manner was a big challenge, but we feel we did a good job with that, and we never had employees get sick or customers reporting that they got sick as a result of visiting us.”
Riverwatch Brewery continued to produce during the pandemic, but the taproom was closed for in-person consumption. Sloan said they still were able to hold small events with small-batch brews and offer to-go pick-ups. Christian said the brewery also sold beer on a pick-up basis throughout the pandemic.
“We’ve never wanted to rule the world,” said Sloan. “We just wanted to have a hometown place where people can relax and hopefully enjoy some really good beer. Last year was certainly not easy, but it is picking up and it is getting better.”
Both breweries hold recurring and special events on several nights of the week. Those events can be found on their websites, Savannah River Brew and Riverwatch Brewery.
Tyler Strong is the Business Editor for The Augusta Press. Reach him at tyler@theaugustapress.com.
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