Small and independent brewers seek tax relief, resources to survive 

Boulder, Colo • July 13, 2020 — Led by the Brewers Association—the national not-for-profit trade association dedicated to small and independent American brewers—the annual craft brewing industry hill climb is going online this year to practice advocacy at a safe social distance. 

During the week of July 13, small and independent craft brewers and state brewers guilds from 47 states will hold online meetings with members of Congress and staff to advocate for the issues that will help breweries recover from the impacts of the coronavirus, including making the existing federal excise tax rates permanent by passing the language of the Craft Beverage Modernization and Tax Reform Act, and securing additional resources to ensure that small and independent breweries can weather the global health pandemic and economic crisis. 

Participants will share their stories and emphasize that making the current federal excise tax (FET) rates permanent before the savings sunset in December will be critical to small and independent breweries as they work to recover from the impact of the coronavirus. Making the FET rates permanent will provide certainty to the more than 8,300 small and independent breweries across the U.S. and allow them to continue reinvesting in their businesses and hire new employees.  

“The lower FET rates have benefitted small and independent brewers in all 50 states and nearly every congressional district,” said Bob Pease, president and CEO, Brewers Association. “These savings empowered brewers to reinvest in their businesses and resulted in an annual tax savings of more than $80 million.” 

Brewers reinvested the additional capital by creating thousands of new jobs, buying new equipment, expanding their operations, and improving employee benefits. Thanks to the recalibrated rates, craft brewing jobs grew by 15,000 in 2018 to more than 150,000 nationally—the largest job increase on record for small brewers. 

Congress overwhelmingly supports the lower FET rates, with more than half of its members co-sponsoring the Craft Beverage Modernization and Tax Reform Act (S. 362/H.R. 1175), including 73 Senate and 345 House co-sponsors (as of July 10 2020).  

Hit hard by the global health pandemic and economic crisis, brewers are also urging their representatives to ensure that their small businesses are supported in the next coronavirus relief package so they have the resources needed to survive these unprecedented times.  

Contact:  Ann Obenchain, 720-473-5341 

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About the Brewers Association

The Brewers Association (BA) is the not-for-profit trade association dedicated to small and independent American brewers, their beers, and the community of brewing enthusiasts. The BA represents 5,600-plus U.S. breweries. The BA’s independent craft brewer seal is a widely adopted symbol that differentiates beers by small and independent craft brewers. The Brewers Association organizes events, including the World Beer Cup^®, Great American Beer Festival^®, Craft Brewers Conference^® & BrewExpo America^®, National Homebrew Competition, and American Craft Beer Week^®. The BA publishes The New Brewer^® and Zymurgy^® magazines, and Brewers Publications^® is the leading publisher of brewing literature in the U.S. Beer lovers are invited to learn more about the dynamic world of craft beer at CraftBeer.com^® and about homebrewing via the American Homebrewers Association^®. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn.

The Brewers Association is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, gender, religion, age, disability, political beliefs, sexual orientation, or marital/familial status. The BA complies with provisions of Executive Order 13672 and the rules, regulations, and relevant orders of the Secretary of Labor.