LAURINBURG — Cheers.
The Rotary Club on Tuesday was given an in-depth history of the beer industry — from Europe to America — and a glimpse into the regional brewery that operates Southern Pines Growler by its co-owner, Gerry Bateman.
Born in Bethesda, Maryland, Bateman’s father was employed by the CIA and, in his younger years, Bateman was able to spend eight years in Germany, “where I got a great appreciation for beer,” he said.
He said the American beer industry has developed over the course of many years and is based on what is known as a pilsner — like Budweiser and Coors and Miller.
“The claim to fame for those beers is that it has the same taste if was made 5 minutes ago or 5 years ago,” Bateman said. “How they did that is really a miracle.”
Then, along came craft beers — which are made by all-natural means with all-natural ingredients.
“Beer has been drunk for more than 3,000 years,” Bateman said. “The American beer was developed by people from Europe — the start of which was by the Anheuser-Busch company with the theft of a recipe from a brewery in Slovakia.”
In 1975, Bateman said the American industry was represented by less than 100 breweries. In 1999, there were about 1,000 breweries. Today there are more than 8,700 breweries in the U.S.
“Many of those began by someone making beer out in their garage,” he said.
“That growth is based on small breweries, called brew pubs, that make less than 1,000 barrels per year.”
Bateman added that, in 2020, there were 186 million barrels of beer made in the U.S., with 23 million being produced by small breweries. He also said the beer industry is a $94 billion business, with craft beers counting for $22 billion.
During the COVID pandemic, Bateman said the industry saw a 20% reduction in production, and with most outlets like restaurants, bars and taprooms being closed, it created a shortage of cans in the U.S. In addition, there was also a 14% decline in the beer industry’s workforce.
Bateman said there are 359 breweries in North Carolina, which ranks the state ninth in the country. he said those breweries were responsible for producing 912,000 barrels of beer in 2020, which in No. 8 in the country.
“So we are a major portion of the overall industry,” Bateman said.
Something he said most don’t realize is the fact that an operation in North Carolina cannot bring in a beer produced out-of-state without the approval of the ABC Board, “which is a very regimented process.”
In wrapping up, he stated that Southern Pines Growler is now the longest-running operation in North Carolina.
W. Curt Vincent can be reached at 910-506-3023 or [email protected]
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