Ohio
Ohio’s 442 craft breweries had a $1.29 billion economic impact in 2024
The following article was originally published in the Ohio Capital Journal and published on News5Cleveland.com under a content-sharing agreement.
Cheers for Ohio beer.
Ohio’s 442 craft breweries brought in $1.29 billion of economic activity in 2024, according to the Ohio Craft Brewers Association’s economic and fiscal impact of Ohio’s craft brewing industry. This is an increase from 2022, when Ohio breweries contributed $1.27 billion to the economy.
Ohio’s craft beer industry had 9,753 direct jobs and an additional 2,502 indirect jobs sustaining 8,095 Ohio households, according to the biennial report.
Beer was flowing in Ohio with 1.15 million barrels brewed. Ohio craft breweries generated an estimated $128.6 million of state and local taxes and $99.1 million of federal taxes in 2024, according to the report.
The number of craft breweries in Ohio continued to go up. There were 45 in 2011, 135 in 2015, 300 in 2018, 357 in 2020, 420 in 2022, and 442 in 2024, according to the report. 53 breweries are in planning around the state.
- The Northwest region had 41 craft breweries that brewed 17,000 barrels of beer for an economic impact of $78 million.
- The North Central region had 37 craft breweries that brewed 10,000 barrels of beer for an economic impact of $36.1 million.
- The Greater Cleveland region had 59 craft breweries that brewed 209,000 barrels of beer for an economic impact of $231 million.
- The Northeast region had 49 craft breweries that brewed 26,000 barrels of beer for an economic impact of $71.2 million.
- The State Line region had 46 craft breweries that brewed 9,000 barrels of beer for an economic impact of $34.8 million.
- The West Central region had 39 craft breweries that brewed 16,000 barrels of beer for an economic impact of $60.7 million.
- The Greater Columbus region had 56 craft breweries that brewed 159,000 barrels of beer for an economic impact of $184 million.
- The Greater Cincinnati region had 50 craft breweries that brewed 669,000 barrels of beer for an economic impact of $495.6 million.
- The Southwest region had 33 craft breweries that brewed 16,000 barrels of beer for an economic impact of $45.7 million.
- The Southeast region had 32 craft breweries that brewed 19,000 barrels of beer for an economic impact of $52.4 million.
Ohio breweries will likely see the effects of new tariffs on aluminum, steel and malted barley.
A tariff is a tax on imported goods and President Donald Trump imposed 50% tariffs on aluminum and steel imported into the United States, and a 25% tariff on Canadian barley.
There were 9,796 craft breweries across the country in 2024.
Last year was the first year since 2005 that there were more brewery closing than openings nationwide — with 430 new breweries and 529 breweries closed, according to the Brewers Association.
MIDDLEFIELD, Ohio (WKBN) — The Ohio State Highway Patrol’s Chardon Post is investigating a fatal plane crash that killed three people around 3:30 p.m. Saturday.
According to a press release, about one mile east of the Geauga County Airport, a Piper Comanche 250 crashed into a field.
The plane sustained major damage — killing three Ohioans who were identified as Thomas A. Cunningham, 76, of Rome, John W. Taipale, 71, and Alexander C. Taipale, 40, both from Geneva.
OSHP was assisted by the Geauga County Sheriff’s Office, Geauga County Coroner’s Office, Geauga County Emergency Management Agency, Middlefield Fire Department and Community Care Ambulance.
The Western Reserve Port Authority, Youngstown-Warren Regional Airport’s executive director, Anthony Trevena, reached out to our team with a statement regarding the crash.
“We were heartbroken to learn that members of our extended YNG and Youngstown aviation family, were victims in today’s crash in Geagua County. Our deepest condolences go out the Cunningham and Taipale families. We ask that their privacy please be respected during this difficult time. The FAA and NTSB are leading the investigation to determine the cause and will provide any updates as information becomes available.,” Trevena said.
The Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board were notified of the crash.
The crash remains under investigation.
COLUMBUS, Ohio (WSYX) — As concerns have grown over the impact of social media on young people, lawmakers are pushing to keep protections in tact to keep children safe online.
This week the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that Ohio’s law, the Social Media Parental Notification Act, requiring parental consent for children under the age of 16 to use social media must be restored. Gov. Mike DeWine signed the act into law in July 2023.
Netchoice, the trade group that represents Tik Tok, Snapchat, Meta and other tech companies contested Ohio’s law in 2024, arguing that it was overly broad, vague and represented an unconstitutional impediment to free speech.
“An unconstitutional law protects no one, and we remain focused on ensuring the First Amendment rights of Ohioans are protected,” Paul Taske, NetChoice Litigation Center Director said.
Cincinnati-based Sixth Circuit’s panel does not agree with this view point, determined that the law is not unconstitutional and had the block on the law’s enforcement vacated.
“At bottom, the Act imposes a parental consent requirement,” Judge Eric Clay wrote. “That requirement constitutes a marginal burden that precisely targets the multi-faceted problem that Ohio has identified: Children’s unsupervised assent to terms and conditions for use of platforms that take advantage of and harm them.”
The Social Media Parental Notification Act is a way to protect children’s mental health against the “intentionally addictive” nature of social media, according to U.S. senator Jon Husted.
The law requires companies to get parental permission for social media and gaming apps and to provide their privacy guidelines so families know what content would be censored or moderated on their child’s profile.
Ohio Attorney General Andy Wilson says the ruling is “a win for Ohio families.”
“The court agreed that parents –- not social media companies –- should get a say in what kids see online,” he said in a statement. “We have an obligation to keep our children safe, and today, the most dangerous place for our kids is the internet. This decision gives parents the tools to be involved and provide oversight.”
LICKING COUNTY, Ohio (WCMH) — When you think of wild animals in central Ohio, a black bear likely isn’t the first thing that comes to mind. That’s why one Licking County family said they couldn’t believe their eyes.
It was an average afternoon drive home for father and son, Justin and Aaron Rhodes, when something walked into the road in front of them.
“I didn’t even think it was real at first, so that’s why I had to do the double take,” Justin said.
Aaron said he thought it was “just a weird looking dog”.
To their disbelief, it was a bear. The sighting comes just one year after the animal was spotted in Licking County for the first time in more than two decades.
“It’s kind of hard to believe that they’re even around this area,” Justin said. “I’ve lived in this area for about 24 years now, so it’s been quite a while, and I’ve never seen one before.”
These sightings are becoming more common. The Ohio Division of Wildlife said the black bear population is growing in the state, and they expect those trends to continue. Ohio saw a record number of confirmed sightings in 2025.
Lindsey Krusling, a wildlife communications specialist with the Ohio Division of Wildlife, said they are seeing more breeding females establish homes in the state, signaling the species is returning. Experts said the work restoring natural forest land is a big reason why.
“We’re starting to get some black bears coming in from neighboring states like Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Kentucky,” Krusling said. “They’re naturally crossing those state borders and coming back to Ohio because we have more of that habitat available to them, especially those forested areas.”
As the black bear population grows, the Division of Wildlife is expanding its research. They are putting radio collars on some bears they find in the state to help track data, such as if the bears are staying here, how far they’ve traveled and if they’re successfully having cubs.
“We’re trying to get quite a bit of data from these bears, and we’re super excited to see where this takes us,” Krusling said.
The research is in the beginning stages, but they expect population growth to continue, Krusling said.
Sighting reports can be submitted here to help the Division of Wildlife track black bear populations throughout the state.
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