Opportunities for locally produced ingredients in Pennsylvania’s craft brewing industry

Abstract

This research investigates the opportunities and challenges in sourcing locally produced ingredients within Pennsylvania’s craft beer industry. While Pennsylvania ranks as the second-largest craft beer producer in the United States, sourcing core beer ingredients like hops and barley locally remains difficult because of climate and production limita­tions. Survey results show that the majority of brewers in our survey agree that buying local products supports economic growth and believe it benefits farmers. Several barriers to local sourcing were identified, with price, variety, and accessibility ranking as major challenges. Smaller breweries, those close to population centers, and breweries with higher taproom sales are more inclined to adopt local inputs.