Brewing Can Ferment Growth in Towns and Neighborhoods in Need of a Lift

Rather than dying off like any other fad, as many predicted, small craft breweries are becoming vital parts of communities. "After just a year, the small brewery [Hand of Fate Brewing] has brought good fortune to the town. After taking over an old Dollar General discount store in the sparsely occupied town square, the brewery-and-taproom has become a community hub and a catalyst keeping businesses open later," Patrick Sisson writes in Curbed.

Small businesses employ a disproportionate number of Americans, and "[l]ocal governments are increasingly working to attract breweries and the craft-brew industry in the name of economic development and growth," writes Sisson. Beyond bringing employment, breweries can act as anchors for communities. Places where space is cheap make a good fit for the large footprints needed by breweries.

Sisson also reports that brew pubs are associated with lower levels of crime than traditional bars.