It used to be terms like “economic impact” and “beer” were rarely uttered in the same breath. But there's a growing interest in the topic from the media, economists, and now a Denver-based documentary film crew.
The Coloradoan reports that the film, “Crafting a Nation”, will feature Odell Brewing Co. in Fort Collins. The film is expected to look at how the economic recovery and the microbrew industry are intertwined.
“It’s not going to happen nationally, but locally,” says “Crafting a Nation” Writer, Director and co-Producer Thomas Kolicko, who spoke via telephone from Ashville, North Carolina, where he’s now filming.
A huge part of the story, according to Kolicko, is the trickle-down effect that breweries have on other local businesses—the so-called “spinoff impacts”.
“Many of the breweries we speak to want to get as local as possible,” he says. “That dollar you spent on a pint, a lot of it will go to community and better quality of life.”
KUNC reported last December on a study by Colorado State University Economist Martin Shields, who studied not just microbreweries, but the beer industry’s impact in Larimer County.
The results? The industry supported more than 930 direct jobs in 2010. Meantime, county payrolls added an estimated $142 million due to spinoff impacts from local breweries, which included things like advertising, trucking and accounting services used by the companies.
More recently, the Denver Business Journal reported a $446 million economic impact statewide from craft brewers.
You can view other webisodes from "Crafting a Nation" online, their webisode featuring Odell Brewing Co. is below.
http://youtu.be/_6eRbMkThUc
