While beer-making might have a reputation as a laidback pursuit, a recent study attempts to quantify just how much breweries play power positions in the local economy. Brewing contributed nearly $1 billion in overall output to the Asheville area in 2016, according to a contribution analysis of the brewery industry released by the Economic Development Coalition for Asheville-Buncombe County. The EDC’s analysis considered the Buncombe, Haywood, Henderson and Madison counties, and was sponsored by McGuire, Wood and Bissette Law Firm. The data said breweries added more than 600 direct jobs from 2011 through 2016, a growth rate of 754 percent.