December 2013
| Business World Magazine | 139
both enhance the brewing skills of home-
brewers and increase camaraderie among the
homebrewing community.
LEGISLATIVE ADVOCACY
The BA fulfills a large role in promoting the
interests of small brewers at the federal level
and helps those in the industry better navi-
gate through issues in national legislative
scene. Craft brewers are valuable small busi-
nesses that are creating jobs and reinvigo-
rating communities across the country. The
BA continues to back legislation that stands
to strengthen the craft brewing community
and allow for further job growth.
One legislative item of particular im-
portance to craft brewers is the Small Brewer
Reinvestment and Expanding Workforce
Act (Small BREWAct), which was re-intro-
duced in both the Senate (S. 917) andHouse
of Representatives (H.R. 494) earlier in
2013. The Small BREW Act aims to recali-
brate the federal excise tax that small brewers
pay on each barrel of beer that they produce.
A recalibration of the federal excise tax,
which hasn’t happened since 1976, would
let brewers to reinvest more money in their
businesses, thereby allowing for expanded
production and distribution. More produc-
tion and distribution would also present an
Association Founder Charlie Papazian accepts award at World Beer Cup
