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He worked 100-hour weeks to save a nearly bankrupt boat company. At 83, he’s just turned down $400 million for it—and gave it all to charity instead

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Costco's $14 million email settlement: Who qualifies for an up-to $500 payment and how to claim before the Aug. 24 deadline

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Mamdani’s pied-à-terre tax was designed to hit the wealthy, but it’s sending most New Yorkers to their estate lawyers
Finance

Craft Beer Added $79 Billion to Economy in 2018

By
Chris Morris
Chris Morris
Former Contributing Writer
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By
Chris Morris
Chris Morris
Former Contributing Writer
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September 25, 2019, 1:13 PM ET
Craft Beer Brews-Economic Impact
Marco De Anda drinks from a beer flight in the taproom at Like Minds Brewery in Milwaukee on May 24, 2017. (John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)John J. Kim—Chicago Tribune/Tribune News Service via Getty Images
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The days of eye popping growth for the craft beer industry might be behind it, but that doesn’t mean things are fading away.

The craft beer industry contributed $79.1 billion to the U.S. economy last year and was responsible for 559,545 jobs, according to the Brewers Association just-released 2018 economic impact report. That’s a 4% improvement from the 2017 numbers.

The numbers incorporate finances and employment at breweries, wholesalers and retailers.

California got the biggest craft beer’s economic bump, with $9 billion. Pennsylvania was second with $6.3 billion and Texas saw an impact of $5.1 billion. New York and Florida rounded out the top five.

“With small breweries in every state and nearly every congressional district in the country, craft brewers are a vital and growing part of the economy in cities and towns all across the country,” said Bart Watson, chief economist of the Brewers Association, in a statement. “Beer lovers are spending their dollars by supporting small and independent brewers in their local communities and across the country, and its positive impact is evident nationwide.”

The report comes a little over a week before the start of the Great American Beer Festival, which is widely considered the Super Bowl of the craft beer world, with over 4,000 different beers from 800-plus brewers being poured.

More must-read stories from Fortune:

—A new distillery tells the true–and often untold–origin story of Tennessee whiskey
—The celebrity-branded liquor market is oversaturated
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Craft breweries are going hyper-local to source ingredients
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Some of California’s most famous wines came from a science experiment
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White Bordeaux wines are picking up steam. Here’s what you should know

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About the Author
By Chris MorrisFormer Contributing Writer

Chris Morris is a former contributing writer at Fortune, covering everything from general business news to the video game and theme park industries.

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