Ohio

Ohio’s 442 craft breweries had a $1.29 billion economic impact in 2024

Published

11 months ago

June 14, 2025

Ohio’s 442 craft breweries had a .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.

Source link

Click to comment

Ohio

Can you eat Ohio River fish? Just Askin’

Published

7 hours ago

May 9, 2026

Press Room

Can you eat Ohio River fish? Just Askin’

Can you eat fish from the Ohio River?

In 1975, future presidential candidate Michael Dukakis, then governor of Massachusetts, bet 20 pounds of New England cod that the Red Sox would defeat the Reds in the World Series. If things went south for Boston, Ohio governor James Rhodes promised to send Dukakis 10 pounds of Lake Erie perch and 10 pounds of Ohio River catfish. The Reds ended up winning and the cod was sent to the Convalescent Home for Children, in Cincinnati.

At the time, people were still eating catfish from the Ohio without too much concern. The fish were also served at several restaurants along the river.

There were warnings in 1977

But two years later, in 1977, The Ohio River Valley Water Sanitation Commission released the results of a study of contaminants found in the tissues of Ohio River fish. They warned anglers in cities such as Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Louisville, Wheeling and Gallipolis that man-made chemicals known as PCBs, or polychlorinated biphenyls, had been discovered in the river fish. Later, high concentrations of mercury were discovered in the fish, too.

Thanks to the Clean Water Act of 1972 and the environmental regulations that followed, the river is now cleaner than it was in the seventies. And it’s still teeming with a variety of fish, including catfish, striped bass, drum and black bass, among other species.

But even though PCBs were banned by the Environmental Protection Agency in 1979, they are still found in fish, since they remain in the sediment in the bottom of the river. “Organisms live in the sediment and fish feed on them,” Rich Cogen, the executive director of the Ohio River Foundation told The Enquirer. Mercury is also a big problem, according to Cogen.

So the question is: Can you eat fish caught in the Ohio River?

The short answer is yes. But it depends on what species you are eating and where along the river you caught it.

There are also very strict limitations on how frequently you should eat them, according to the web site for the Ohio Sport Fish Consumption Advisory, part of the Ohio Department of Health.

In areas of the river between the Belleville Lock, located 204 miles downstream from the river’s origins in Pittsburgh, to the Indiana border, the advisory agency currently recommends consuming Ohio River fish no more than once a month max. That area includes Adams, Brown, Clermont, Gallia, Hamilton, Lawrence, Meigs and Scioto counties.

Here’s where to check

Recommendations change throughout the year, but you can keep up by visiting the Ohio Department of Health’s Sport Fish Consumption Advisory page, which provides updated information on when certain fish, usually bottom feeders such as carp, are deemed too dangerous to eat at all.

Here’s who should take a pass on Ohio River fish

The agency also warns that people who are more likely to have health effects from eating contaminated fish, includingchildren younger than 15 years old, pregnant women and women who are planning to become pregnant to avoid Ohio River fish altogether.

Just because you have to limit the amount of fish you eat, doesn’t mean the river is a bad place for fishing, as long as you limit your intake or do catch-and-release fishing. Just make sure you have a proper fishing license before casting your line.

Have a question for Just Askin’? Email us.

The Just Askin’ series aims to answer the questions that no one seems to have an answer for, except maybe Google.

Do you have a question you want answered? Send it to us at justaskin@enquirer.com, ideally with Just Askin’ in the subject line.

Source link

Ohio

UCLA offensive coordinator visits four-star Ohio State commit

Published

19 hours ago

May 8, 2026

Press Room

UCLA offensive coordinator visits four-star Ohio State commit

It isn’t over until it’s over. That’s the case for both the UCLA Bruins football program recruiting and for quarterback Brady Edmunds. Edmunds is currently committed to head to Ohio State but he took a visit from UCLA offensive coordinator Dean Kennedy earlier this week.

Kennedy met Edmunds on Thursday despite the fact that the quarterback has been committed to the Buckeyes since December of 2024 but could the UCLA Bruins be making a run at flipping the quarterback?

Edmunds has only had an official visit with Ohio State but could UCLA heave a heat check on the 6’5” quarterback? New UCLA head coach Bob Chesney is off to an unbelievable start to his recruiting with the Bruins and flipping a recruit of Edmunds’ caliber would be his most impressive move yet.

247 Sports has Edmunds as the No. 16 quarterback in the class, which would give UCLA a clear predecessor for Nico Iamaleava whenever the Bruins current starting quarterback decides to head to the professional level.

It’d be a full circle moment for the Bruins, as Edmunds was originally recruited to Ohio State by former UCLA head coach Chip Kelly, who bailed on UCLA to go run the Buckeyes offense. Ohio State is a great spot for a developing quarterback, as the Buckeyes produce tons of NFL talent, especially at the wide receiver position, which would help Edmunds put up some gaudy numbers in Columbus.

Chesney and the Bruins have geography on their side, Edmunds attends Huntington Beach High School in Southern California, which could potentially become a factor if Edmunds views UCLA as a program on the rise that’d be much closer to his friends and family than out in Ohio.

Time will tell if Kennedy’s visit will make a difference but UCLA’s recruiting has made waves in the first offseason under Chesney and the new regime.

Source link

Ohio

Ohio rural healthcare access — an advanced solution?

Published

1 day ago

May 8, 2026

Press Room

Ohio rural healthcare access — an advanced solution?

A report from the Health Policy Institute of Ohio found that rural residents are 15% more likely to die before the age of 75. Allowing Advanced Practice Registered Nurses to operate more independently could be a solution to allow better access to care.

Source link