Is Illinois losing in national craft beer increase?

Unlike Wisconsin, Missouri, Michigan and Ohio, Illinois has not one craft brewery in the top 50 in the nation by sales volume, reports the Medill News Service, identified as breweries that produce less than 2 million barrels per year. (Goose Island doesn’t count as a “craft brew” under the articles standards.)

Apparently, the issue is one of distribution and regulation. Smaller brewers in Illinois have a hard time paying the large fees for an alcohol license and space on distributors trucks.

The article explains:

“Let’s say you want to be a small little brewery, it’s hard to get in with the big name distributors,” said Travis Biggs, a beer specialist and salesman at Sam’s Wine and Spirits in Downers Grove. Biggs said the smaller craft breweries can’t produce the bulk amounts required to sign on with larger distributors.

In addition, taxes and union regulations make it difficult to raise the capital needed to open a brewery.

Illinois, especially Chicago, should do more to support it’s brewing industry. With Milwaukee and St. Louis are obviously the giants of the Midwest production brewing, there’s no reason a Midwest beer Renaissance can’t take root here. And with craft beer sales growing and interest booming, now is a perfect time to launch new breweries here in Chicago.