The most recent numbers from the Beer Institute suggest that the U.S. shipments of beer increased 1.9% in the first eight months of 2012, marking the first increase in three years.
While some people may think that beer is recession proof, as we can see in the graph in the article, sales have been off since the labor market starting getting hammered by the financial crisis/recession http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10000872396390444083304578016193481145184.html
As a craft beer enthusiast, I find both pleasure and pain in this article. First, the fact that the craft brew industry has essentially been recession proof is extremely satisfying. Even while hundreds of thousands of people were losing jobs in a given month, sales of craft brews remained strong (on a personal note, I have always found craft brews much more satisfying while celebrating or in misery). The increase in the number of craft breweries and in sales indicates that people in the United States are finally starting to recognize what those of us from the Pacific Northwest have realized since the 1980s, there are some really tasty beers out there.
A disturbing aspect of the article was identifying some breweries that have been bought out by either AB InBev or MillerCoors as craft breweries. I would label these as slightly better tasting macrobrews rather than true microbrews. However, if these beers can serve as a gateway to the truly tasty microbrews, it will be worth it. If you have a local brewer near you, please get out and support the business. We all need to do our part to Save the Ales.