In a decade of modest statewide job growth, Connecticut’s craft brewery industry has been carrying its own weight.
The state’s brewery industry, mainly including the craft beer segment, has dramatically increased from less than 15 workers in the first quarter of 2010 to almost 800 in Dec. 2018, according to Lincoln S. Dyer, an associate economist for the state Department of Labor (DOL).
That mirrors national brewery job growth over that time, as employment, including large brand-name breweries, has grown from less than 25,000 in the first quarter of 2010 to 81,180 in Sept. 2018.
Although local industry growth is a blip in comparison to Connecticut’s total workforce, which tallies more than 1.7 million workers, Dyer said it’s an encouraging sign for a sector that has no commercial breweries and wasn’t unleashed until 2012, when state law changes allowed craft brewers to have on-site taprooms.
“This has been helpful in a mature, slower-growing state like Connecticut,” Dyer wrote in the June issue of The Connecticut Economic Digest, a joint publication of DOL and the Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development. “This exciting brewery job growth is clearly being led by the craft beer industry portion.”
While craft brewery employment has been a bright spot for the state, local industry wages are significantly lower compared to the national average.
Average weekly wages for Connecticut’s craft brewery industry — including microbreweries, brewpubs, regional craft breweries and contract brewing companies — were $573 in the third quarter last year, a low figure Dyer said is mainly attributed to part-time hours at small brewery taprooms.
Nationally, wages at breweries averaged $834 over the same period.
“There is definitely room for higher pay, it probably would need to come from working longer hours with additional days of operation from the many smaller taprooms and include more beer volume,” he said.
Rapid job growth in Connecticut’s brewery industry, Dyer said, has some people questioning whether the market is becoming oversaturated, meaning “too many breweries or too much beer.”
That’s possible, but Dyer is still bullish about the industry’s employment potential.
“…in terms of employment, Connecticut seems to be somewhat underserved in this industry compared to the current national brewery employment distribution percentage,” he said.
Connecticut’s brewery industry, worth an estimated $3.1 billion annually to the state’s economy, received more good news from state lawmakers late last week.
The state Senate and House of Representatives overwhelmingly approved bipartisan legislation that aims to clear red tape for alcohol manufacturers pursuing permits to produce or sell other types of alcoholic beverages.
For example, the bill, which needs to be signed by Gov. Ned Lamont, would allow breweries to obtain several permits to make spirits, cider, mead or wine under one roof. It would also allow craft breweries to more than triple the amount of beer they can sell for off-premise consumption, increasing the current level from nine liters (2.37 gallons) to nine gallons, which equates to three cases of 16 ounce cans, or four cases of 12 ounce cans.
Connecticut currently ranks No. 48 among U.S. states in how much breweries are allowed to sell for off-site consumption, according to Phil Pappas, executive director of the Connecticut Craft Brewers Guild.
Pappas called the industry reforms “historic.”
“This bill represents the most significant updates to craft beer and alcohol laws since the prohibition-era,” said Pappas, whose group represents 55 of the state’s roughly 90 operating brewers. “This increase to nine gallons is a big step in the right direction and allows us more flexibility on how much is sold directly to the consumer.”
