Beer tourism used to be what we beer geeks just called vacation, but in the past decade “beercation” has become a lucrative trend with a catchy name. To go on “beercation” has become a right of passage for beer lovers who are visiting destination breweries and crossing off world-class taverns from their bucket lists.
In 2013, says a Twin Cities Business article that was published recently, Minnesota’s beer industry created $742 million in economic impact. Explore Minnesota and the Minnesota Craft Brewer’s Guild want to cash in on that impact, and have partnered for an advertising campaign promoting “Brewcations” to the more than fifty craft breweries in the state.
Another state banking on beer tourism is Colorado, where the Colorado Brewers Guild is branding “The State of Craft Beer” as its tagline. Said branding is intended to help the state’s tourism office and Visit Denver better promote the Colorado craft-beer industry, which according to the Brewers Association generated $1.6 billion in economic impact in 2013.
Colorado, Oregon, Vermont, and North Carolina are pioneers of the beer tourism industry segment, says Scott Schaier, who represents Brew NH, a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting the beer industry in New Hampshire. “[Here in New Hampshire,] there are folks who are doing beer tourism on their own. We’re slowly showing our state government that it’s a real thing.”
For Schaier, New Hampshire Craft Beer Week is helping to promote the state as a destination spot for beer tourism. “Beer week is about hyper-local breweries and beer tourism,” he says. “[This campaign] is really about living in a place that people want to spend their vacation time and getting the word out about it.”
Plan your next beercation with advice from Craft Beer & Brewing Magazine™. Every issue includes a Travel section with a Beercation destination and a Love Handles column that showcases better beer bars across the country.