But people may not realize how many Granite Staters have jobs because of the frothy beverage.

The beer industry in New Hampshire employs 10,092 people, according to a recent study sponsored by the National Beer Wholesalers Association and Beer Institute.

And it pays well, too. Beer industry workers earn $322 million a year in wages and benefits in New Hampshire, and the industry poured $1.03 billion into the state economy last year, the John Dunham & Associates study said.

That isn’t surprising to Phil Jewett, owner of Pennichuck Brewing Co. of Milford, which is going into its third month of business. Pennichuck is the area’s first commercial brewery.

He has a passion for beer, but he made brewing it his full-time job not for the love, but for the money.

“I enjoy making beer, but at the same time, I enjoy making money,” said Jewett, who also works per diem as a paramedic at Southern New Hampshire Medical Center and is a call-firefighter in Amherst. “This is our first month in the black, and we’ve only been in business two months, almost three months.”

New Hampshire’s beer industry includes 21 brewers, eight independent beer distributors and 2,989 retailers, according to the National Beer Wholesalers Association.

Perhaps the biggest business responsible for keeping beer-drinkers’ thirst quenched in New Hampshire is the Anheuser-Busch brewery in Merrimack.Anheuser-Busch is the town’s fifth-largest employer, with 531 employees, according to the state of New Hampshire’s profile of Merrimack.

And the company offers an “enviable” wage and benefits package, said Denny Nesbitt, plant manager of Anheuser-Busch in Merrimack. The brewery, which attracts more than 70,000 visitors a year, has an annual payroll of $24 million.

Anheuser-Busch also has a significant impact on the local economy. The brewery pays $1.1 million a year in property taxes and $16 million for utilities, Nesbitt said. Since 2000, capital expenditures, made to improve operations and secure jobs for employees and local contractors, total more than $150 million, he added.

“Anheuser-Busch has been a proud member of the Merrimack community for 36 years,” Nesbitt said.

Then there are the smaller, independent family businesses such as Bellavance Beverage that distribute beer to retailers. They, too, are doing their part to keep America’s economy strong, said Craig Purser, president of the wholesalers association.

“These families have been ingrained in their communities for generations and support the local economy, including creating jobs for their neighbors,” Purser said. “This is an industry that prides itself on providing good paying jobs and quality benefits for its employees.”

Several niche industries also profit from beer in Nashua. Take IncrediBREW on Daniel Webster Highway, where you can learn how to make and bottle beer, root beer and wine, and Jasper’s Home Brew Supply on Temple Street.

“There’s no doubt it’s a good industry to go into,” said Jewett, the Milford brewer.

“I think the biggest thing we had going in our favor is there was a hole in New Hampshire. There’s a ton of microbreweries and brew pubs in (other) states.”

In addition to strengthening the New Hampshire economy with job creation, the industry plays a significant role in promoting responsible consumption of its products. New Hampshire’s beer industry has invested in communities across the state to develop and implement programs to promote responsibility and help fight alcohol abuse. Such efforts, along with those of law enforcement, have led to significant declines in illegal underage drinking and drunken driving for two decades, according to the wholesaler’s association and Beer Institute.

The complete Beer Industry Economic Impact study, including a state-by-state and congressional district breakdown of economic contributions, is available at the Beer Serves America Web site.

Karen Spiller