Washington, D.C., got a little more fun on June 12, when more than 100 brewery representatives, guild leaders, and supplier partners came to the city to advocate for small and independent breweries at the Brewers Association’s (BA) 2024 Hill Climb.

Participants covered a wide array of interests impacting our industry and many of our supply chain partners. Topics of the day included the industry’s support for the U.S.P.S. Shipping Equity Act, the CHEERS Act, and the Credit Card Competition Act, as well as appropriations requests for the Alcohol Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) and hops and barley research.

Before the hill climb, attendees heard a state of the industry update from the BA’s vice president of strategy and chief economist, Bart Watson; Lester Jones, the National Beer and Beverage Distributors’ analytics and chief economist; and Andrew Heritage, Beer Institute’s chief economist. They were also given an overview of the 2024 election by Katie Marisic, BA senior director of federal affairs, and a regulatory update from BA general counsel Marc Sorini.

At the 190+ meetings, members of Congress and their staff learned firsthand about the issues impacting breweries in their state and congressional districts and connected with industry leaders.

Events like the BA hill climb are fantastic opportunities for guilds and brewery owners to build and maintain relationships with their federal elected officials. With more than 9,500 breweries and 190,000+ direct jobs in the industry, breweries have a broad impact on issues ranging from manufacturing to hospitality. The hill climb gives a voice to the attendees and to all small and independent breweries.

For those brewery owners and staff unable to attend the event, your role is equally vital. You are encouraged to help amplify our message by inviting your federal elected officials to visit your brewery during the August recess and actively encourage your legislators to support the key legislative issues. Your individual engagement can make a significant difference. More information about the federal topics discussed at the hill climb can be found at the BA’s legislative and grassroots website.

If you have any questions about how to contact your federal legislators or about the BA’s federal legislative priorities, please contact Katie Marisic, senior director of federal affairs.