Shutdown dries up taps of craft brewers
The nation’s craft beer taps are being squeezed by the government shutdown, which has put new releases on hold, prevented new breweries from opening and stopped shipments of some suds across state lines.
The partial shutdown halted operations at the federal agency that regulates alcohol production and distribution. That means government employees can’t issue the permits needed for the beer to flow.
“I’ve been joking with people that if you’re going to want a new beer coming out pretty soon, you’re going to have to drink your brotherin-law’s home brew,” said Russ Klisch, founder and president of Lakefront Brewery in Milwaukee.
Brewers are increasingly nervous that they will lose money if brewery openings and seasonal beers are delayed much longer.
At Lakefront, the release of a new beer has been postponed because the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau isn’t open to approve labels for the bottles and cans. The brewery can sell beer in Wisconsin, but sales in other states require federally approved labels.
Here in central Ohio, the impact isn’t widely known. Brewdog distributes beers outside of Ohio, but mostly its flagship products that have long had approved labels. Columbus Brewing Co. doesn’t sell outside of the state. The biggest Ohio-based craft brewers, Great Lakes Brewing Co. in Cleveland and Rhinegeist in Cincinnati, both distribute to other states, but most of the state’s almost 300 breweries do not.
“Breweries are a little hesitant to comment on the record about specific products ... but there are probably a few dozen who distribute out of state who are immediately affected,” said Justin Hemminger, spokesman for the Ohio Craft Brewers Association.
Hemminger added that the shutdown isn’t just impacting new beers, but new breweries. New breweries require a license from the federal government to open, and that function is not working right now.
“Breweries in the planning and construction stages could also see their opening dates postponed while waiting for ... federal brewing permits,” he said.
The shutdown pinches primarily craft brewers, which offer wider varieties of beer and selections that change constantly. The biggest brewers are largely unaffected because they already have government approval for their top national brands.
The end of the shutdown won’t bring an immediate end to the delays. The longer the shutdown continues, the bigger the backlog the bureau will have to sort through when work resumes. That means it could still be months before labels and permits are approved.
“A big part of it will be all the plans that brewers have for 2019 will get thrown out the window,” said Paul Gatza, director of the Brewers Association in Boulder, Colorado.
It’s too early to quantify the overall economic effect on breweries, said Mark Garthwaite, executive director of the Wisconsin Brewers Guild. But he said smaller brewers who are always introducing new beers — especially those that rely on sales to other states — are likely to suffer most.
Klisch said a beer or two might help the negotiations between Democratic lawmakers and President Donald Trump.
“I think if they all got a beer together and they drank one in a room, they would figure it out,” he said. Then, after a pause: “A few beers. I think they need a few beers, and they’ll figure out this shutdown.”