Blog Posts
State Lawmakers Stand Up for Jobs and Local Brewers
A leading beer industry publication recently ran this statement about efforts in states to pass special tax hand-outs to the liquor lobby that would hurt local beer economies: “Arguments for reducing taxes on RTD spirits are clearly not a winner in state legislatures in 2022.” Beer Marketer’s Insights looked at legislative debates in a handful of states and concluded: “distilled spirits going 0-fer so far this spring.” Pro-liquor tax carveout bills failed big this year in seven states: Alabama, Arizona, Hawaii, Kentucky, Maryland, Washington, and
As the Summer Selling Season Begins, Inflation is Still Top of Mind
Grilling on the back patio with neighbors. Spending a day at the beach with friends. Going to a summer music festival. Cheering on your favorite team at the ballpark. What pairs best with these long-standing American traditions? A cold, refreshing beer. Memorial Day marks the beginning of summer, a critical time for the beer industry.
All alcohol drinks are not the same
Several years ago, Miller Brewing Company said, “Alcohol is not for everyone, every time or every place.” The opinion was well stated then and it is still useful today as we wrap up another Alcohol Awareness month and head into a season filled with drinking occasions. Awareness of the causes and treatment methods for alcohol use disorder (AUD) is the intended purpose of Alcohol Awareness Month.
Treasury Report Ignores Reality to Advance a Political Narrative
President Biden signed his executive order on competition in the United States last summer.
Inflation highlights issues facing the beer industry
U.S. inflation is hitting highs we have not seen in 30 years, and consumers are feeling the crunch at the supermarket, the gas pump and more as the costs of goods continue to rise. The global pandemic, supply chain shortages, and shipping delays put further pressure on our already strained industries, including the beer industry. The pandemic impacted every sector of our economy, and many industries, including the beer industry, are still recovering.
Americans can crack open more beer options than ever before
Americans are living in the Golden Age of Beer. Whether shopping for beer at your local supermarket, picking up a six-pack at your beer store, meeting up for friends at a neighborhood bar, or checking out a new local brewer, Americans have more choice in beer than ever before. And the growing options are not just anecdotal. In the last ten years alone, the number of breweries in the United States grew by nearly 400 percent.
Brewers and Beer Importers are Working Behind the Scenes to Promote Responsible Consumption
April is Alcohol Awareness Month. The National Council for Alcoholism and Drug Dependence, one of the organizations instrumental in setting the national drinking age to 21 in 1984, established Alcohol Awareness Month to educate people about alcohol issues, especially among our nation’s youth. A crucial part of alcohol awareness is knowing the amount of alcohol in your beverage.
For National Beer Can Appreciation Day, Biden Administration Should Remove Aluminum Tariffs
Yesterday marked National Beer Can Appreciation Day, which commemorates the historic day in 1935 when America’s favorite alcohol beverage was first sold in cans. Beer’s use of aluminum has increased drastically over the last 86 years, and American brewers now fill and sell more than 67 percent of the beer they make in the United States in aluminum cans and bottles per year. America’s brewers purchased 37 billion cans in 2019, making aluminum the single largest input cost for brewers.
Conservative and liberals agree: Keeping excise tax rates low for brewers and beer importers makes sense
Cable news likes to tell us that America is polarized, divided into camps of Republicans versus Democrats. Pundits feed into a narrative that there is no issue that unites people of different political persuasions. However, when it comes to our nation’s beer industry, Democratic, Republican, and Independent voters as well as right- and left-leaning organizations, agree that policymakers should not raise taxes on our nation’s brewers and beer importers.
Quotas replacing tariffs on Canadian aluminum will only hurt the beer industry
When something sounds too good to be true, it probably is. That modern proverbial saying was on full display when the United States Trade Representative (USTR) announced it was lifting tariffs on non-alloyed, unwrought aluminum from Canada for the remainder of 2020. It was a surprising statement, not a negotiated deal, with many strings and convenient dates to address the highly unpopular tariff imposed on Canadian imports in August. First, the USTR says that it “expects” shipments of non-alloyed, unwrought aluminum from Canada to not