Most beer aficionados are more concerned with what’s in their glasses than they are with impact its production, promotion or sale can make, and rightly so. But this recent summary of the economic impact of the Oregon Brewers Festival nonetheless deserves note.
According to a release that landed in my inbox earlier this week, the Oregon Brewers Festival, which this past summer celebrated its 25th anniversary edition, made a contribution to the Portland economy of roughly $30 million!
That impact was primarily felt by the tourism industry, of course, with accommodations ($9.31 million) and food and drink ($7.96 million) accounting for the majority of OBF visitor expenditures, according to the release. But other benefits were also felt, like $8.9 million in indirect economic impact and the creation of over 350 jobs. (The release isn’t specific about the full- or part-time nature of the jobs.)
By whatever measure, that’s an impressive amount of clout for a three day beer festival, and makes one wonder what an equivalent study of the upcoming Great American Beer Festival might be. Given that the GABF would seem to be more a travel destination than the OBF – although that’s just me speculating – I’d say it would be quite extraordinary.