Study: Worcester ripe for more breweries
Courtesy | Wormtown Brewery
Beers from Wormtown Brewery in Worcester
Massachusetts is one of the best places in which to open a brewery, and Worcester is on that list, according to a new study.
Worcester, according to the study by Illinois online marketplace Bid-on-Equipment, is the 26th best city in which to open a brewery.
The cities were ranked on several criteria, including state excise tax, population over 21, breweries per capita and licensing fees.
Worcester, like other Massachusetts cities, has a brewery excise tax of $3.30 and an annual fee of $44, compared to the 30-city average of $3.1 and $226, respectively.
While Worcester’s numbers in those categories is somewhat favorable, it’s the space that Worcester offers for new breweries garnering the city attention.
With five breweries and a population of about 186,000, Worcester has 1.1 breweries per 50,000 people. That’s tied for the lowest on the list with Bellevue, Wash.
Redemption Rock Brewing Co. became Worcester’s fifth brewery when it opened on Shrewsbury Street in January. Other breweries include Wormtown Brewery, Greater Good Imperial Brewing Co., Flying Dreams Brewing Co. and 3Cross Fermentation Coop.
Portland, Maine is tops in the brewery-per-resident category with 18 breweries per 50,000 people based on a population of about 67,000 and 22 breweries, according to the industry advocacy website Beer Advocate.
The top-ranked town on the list, which was published by Forbes on Tuesday, is another Bay State city: Somerville. Somerville has 85% of its population 21 and over, the city enjoys the relatively low state brewery fees, and the city has a relatively low brewery count with six.
Boston came in at No. 13, but the majority of the cities are in the west, including seven in Colorado, seven in Washington and four in Oregon.
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