Detroit One of Top 10 Beer Cities: Cheers, Milwaukee

You kind of have to love this. Two Michigan cities — Grand Rapids and Detroit — beat out Milwaukee, Wisconsin — once touted as the beer capital of the world — in a ranking of America’s top 10 cities for beer lovers. Milwaukee came in at No. 9 in the analysis that looked at the per capita availability of beer and wine, just ahead of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

We don’t mean to gloat, but Detroit comes in on the tail end of so many rankings that it’s good to see investments in the craft beer industry, a fast-growing segment in the Michigan economy, are paying off. Michigan’s craft beer industry is ranked by other measures as one of the robust in the country, employing some 7,140 people and providing an economic impact of more than $608 million.

Grand Rapids ranked third and Detroit ranked fifth in an analysis by data, analytics and marketing services provider Infogroup.

The company used its own verified database of more than 15 million records and 245 million individual consumer records to identify which metro areas are home to the most beer retailers and breweries, including craft and microbreweries. The analysis also looked at wine retailers and wineries.

Infogroup also looked at Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs) of 1 million or more residents, then ranked them by their concentration of beer- or wine-related businesses per 10,000 residents. For more about the methodology, click here.

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• “We did not go into the weekend thinking we were going to win,” Roak Brewing founder John Leone said. “The competition is very formidable.”

“Through data analysis we are able to highlight cities where industry penetration of beer and wine plays a major role in the social and cultural aspects of consumer’s lives,” Infogroup’s chief data officer,Matt Graves, said in a statement. “This analysis provides the best foundation for marketers and business owners looking to begin a career or start a business in the beer or wine industries. Knowing where demand is greater and how it impacts consumers allows them to start a business under thriving conditions.”

Portland, Oregon, was the top city for beer lovers, followed by Denver, Colorado.

Top 10 Beer Cities

1. Portland, Oregon
2. Denver, Colorado
3. Grand Rapids, Michigan
4. Seattle, Washington
5. Detroit, Michigan
6. Raleigh, North Carolina
7. San Diego, California
8. Cincinnati, Ohio
9. Milwaukee, Wisconsin
10. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

The study also found some key differences between beer lovers and wine aficionados. Compared with top wine cities, the best cities for beer lovers have a higher percentage of homeowners, and a slightly higher percentage of married households and families with children.

Beer lovers seem to like pets better, too. Beer metro areas are more likely than wine cities to own pets (cats and/or dogs) and eat at family restaurants.

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• After first batch of beer went bad, entrepreneur decided there had to be a better way to control temperature than fermenting in the bathtub.

Metro areas that prefer wine, on the other hand, have a higher average income and home value, along with a slightly higher percentage of college graduates. Residents of wine metro areas show a higher propensity for traveling (especially cruises and foreign travel), joining physical fitness clubs and practicing yoga and Pilates, as well.

Additional findings include:

• Residents of beer metro areas are more likely to prefer country music concerts for entertainment.
• Residents of wine metro areas prefer live theater and classical musical concerts.
• Despite having a higher average income, the average purchasing power (income adjusted for the cost of living) in wine metro areas is actually lower than it is in beer metro areas.

“These insights present significant opportunities for breweries, wineries and retailers who are looking to reach consumers effectively,” Mike Iaccarino, chairman and CEO of Infogroup said in the news release. “We hope businesses capitalize on the lifestyle information and get to know their audience at a greater level, also taking into account the correlation between beer and wine cities for planning and targeting purposes.”

Photo by K. Graham via Flickr Commons