Blog Posts

Enjoying a cold beer with family and friends is a simple pleasure, especially in times like now when things we once considered routine, like restocking the beer supply in our fridge, no longer seem quite so easy. Fortunately, the delivery of beer to retail shelves will continue through this pandemic because breweries have been designated essential to the nation’s food supply chain. By U.S. government definition, all beverages – including beer – are considered food.

Like many Americans, the shelves in my neighborhood store are a little barer than a month ago as people stock up due to COVID-19. As farmers, ranchers and producers work tirelessly to fulfill demand, restock shelves and feed our nation, brewers have been working to support them behind the scenes by continuing one of their less visible roles in the supply chain.

In early February, I will join many of my fellow barley growers to travel to Washington, D.C. to take part in the annual barley growers’ Hill Climb. It is an opportunity to talk with members of Congress and their staff about the critical role of our nation’s farmers in providing food for our tables and barley for the world’s beer. I was born in the appropriately named Fertile, Minnesota, and today I am a proud sixth-generation farmer.

Today is Beer Can Appreciation Day. On January 24, 1935, G. Krueger Brewing Company first sold beer in cans to the public. But the rest is not history, as the popularity of beer in cans grew, and can design improved over the years. On January 22, 1959, the seamless all-aluminum can designed by William Coors made its debut with a 7-ounce Coors Banquet.

Some people like to grill hamburgers and hot dogs on the Fourth of July, but I prefer the sublime method of indirect grilling that combines two American favorites, beer and chicken into, you guessed it – Beer Can Chicken. For beer can chicken you need about a five-pound whole chicken.  Whole chickens are mostly broilers.  In fact, most chicken in this country is broiler chicken.

This week marked the annual trip barley growers from around America make to our nation’s capital. The annual event is a great opportunity for growers to meet their representatives in the U.S. House and Senate, and for those growers to advocate for policy priorities that help ensure the viability of American barley farming for generations to come. In August 2017, I had the honor of visiting Skookumchuck Agriculture, in Sunburst, Montana.

The State of the Union is an opportunity for the president to discuss his priorities with members of Congress and the American public. This year, our focus will be extending federal excise tax relief for all brewers and beer importers that is set to expire at the end of 2019, ending the tariffs on imported primary aluminum, and providing greater transparency in aluminum pricing.

Today is Beer Can Appreciation Day – the day we celebrate the beer can and all it does. They may seem small, but cans are a huge part of the American beer business. More than 62% of all of the beer brewed and sold in the United States is packaged in aluminum cans, and that’s up from 56% just 10 years ago.

Earlier this year, under the threat of impending implementation of a 10 percent tariff on imported aluminum, the Beer Institute commissioned a study by John Dunham and Associates, an outside economic consultant, to estimate what the tariff would mean to American brewers. John and his team found the tariff would increase the annual cost of beer manufacturing by $347 million.  You can read John’s full analysis here.

I wanted to take a moment to congratulate to Owens-Illinois Inc, known as O-I, for receiving the Keep America Beautiful 2018 Vision for America Award. America’s brewers, beer importers, and industry suppliers understand that we only have one planet, and we all must be good stewards so we can ensure the next generation inherits a healthy and vibrant world.