I thought I was done with statistics for a while until an article titled The Geography of Craft Beer crossed my path.
You might recall I recently mentioned I wasn’t too impressed with the “craft breweries per capita” statistic that now has Montana as No. 2 in the U.S. It’s one of those statistics that doesn’t mean much until you actually do something with it, like attempt to determine it’s causation.
The article specifically disclaims any attempt to explain causation, but nevertheless takes the craft brewers per capita statistic a step further. The authors took a look at how the concentration of brewers per capita correlates with certain state demographic and economic characteristics.
For starters, they found no correlation with income or wages. Thus, affluence doesn’t appear to have much of an effect. They did find a correlation with education, showing higher concentrations in more highly educated states. That’s curious since I’ve always thought affluence follows education levels. They also found that craft brewing is more closely associated with higher levels of happiness and well being.
Duh. Though we may have a chicken and egg thing going on there.
Craft breweries are less likely in conservative states, as well as in highly religious states, a factor which provided the strongest correlation of all.
As interesting as some of these statistic may be – hold the “nerd” comments – my base question remains. What is it about Montana that drives up the number of breweries per capita? What’s causing it?
There are two factors which come to mind right away. 1. culture; 2. geography. In my nearly two decades of living in Montana it’s been clear Montana’s trends, leanings, and whatever you want to call them in the world of arts, music, food, etc., align much more with the pacific northwest (read Seattle and Portland) than our neighbors to the east and south. If you’re not familiar with Montana, you might be rather surprised at our near obsessiveness with finding good coffee. I think there’s a correlation there with seeking out good beer. There’s quite a craft to both.
Then there’s geography. At the risk of understating it, Montana is a big ass state. Spread out doesn’t begin to describe it. By my calculations, it’s a 10.5+ hour drive between the farthest-flung breweries. Our seven “large” cities are separated from each other by hours-long drives, significant mountain passes, or both. Our smaller cities and towns are dispersed, often in places one might generously call “remote.” Thus, population centers are fairly separated, lending both a decreased level of competition and an increasing need or desire for a local, hometown brewery, given the whole culture thing.
Missoula has seven breweries and brewery specific satellite tap rooms, but it isn’t anywhere near maxing out its capacity for such things in a city of 100,000. Montana’s brewery laws have unintentionally turned our State’s tap rooms into something resembling the pubs of old – community centers where locals catch up on the news and welcome the passers-through like good friends.That community aspect has a lot to do with the relatively small population and relatively high dispersion of those who are here.
What about you? What do you think is driving the high number of breweries per capita in Montana?
