Time to Celebrate the Economic Benefits of Beer in North Dakota

As we approach another long weekend thanks to Labor Day, our brains once again focus on the unofficial drink of long weekends: beer.

There's a lot of beer topics we can discuss from 3D printed beer, or how much North Dakotans love beer, the best summer beer in North Dakota, the beer that best represents North Dakota and plenty more.

But one thing we never seem to touch on is how beer is fueling the economy. Fortunately there are organizations like the National Beer Wholesalers Association who can help us with this topic.

Here are the numbers directly from the NBWA:

North Dakota beer distribution facilities directly employ 437 people, who earn $36 million in wages and salaries.
North Dakota beer distributors add $189.4 million to the nation's gross domestic product.
North Dakota beer distributor activities generate $496,000 in economic impacts to communities through support of charities, local events and economic development.
North Dakota beer distributor activities contribute $40.3 million to the federal, state and local tax bases. This does not include an added $66 million in federal, state and local alcohol excise and consumption taxes on beer sold in North Dakota.
The North Dakota beer distribution industry contributes more than $24 million in transportation efficiencies for the beer industry each year.