Which year saw the greatest number of breweries in the US?

Which year saw the greatest number of breweries in the US?

• A. 1890
• B. 1980
• C. 1920
• D. 2010

Answer: (D)

The number of breweries in the US has fluctuated with big industry shifts, and the 2010 period represents a peak reached only after a long build‑up of craft breweries. In the late 19th century there were many breweries, but Prohibition in 1920 dramatically reduced the count and it stayed relatively low for decades. The modern surge of craft and microbreweries began in the 1980s and accelerated through the 1990s and 2000s, bringing a wave of new openings. By 2010 the total number of breweries was higher than at any earlier time, roughly around two thousand, reflecting the impact of that craft beer boom. So, among the given years, 2010 has the greatest number of breweries because of the late-20th/early-21st-century revival and expansion that surpassed previous eras.

The number of breweries in the US has fluctuated with big industry shifts, and the 2010 period represents a peak reached only after a long build‑up of craft breweries. In the late 19th century there were many breweries, but Prohibition in 1920 dramatically reduced the count and it stayed relatively low for decades. The modern surge of craft and microbreweries began in the 1980s and accelerated through the 1990s and 2000s, bringing a wave of new openings. By 2010 the total number of breweries was higher than at any earlier time, roughly around two thousand, reflecting the impact of that craft beer boom. So, among the given years, 2010 has the greatest number of breweries because of the late-20th/early-21st-century revival and expansion that surpassed previous eras.