Beer Forum

Good news for the craft brewer.

http://money.cnn.com/2011/03/11/smallbusiness/craft_beer/index.htm?section=money_smbusiness&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+rss%2Fmagazines_fsb+%28FSB+Magazine%29

SeeFish wrote:Good news for the craft brewer.

http://money.cnn.com/2011/03/11/smallbusiness/craft_beer/index.htm?section=money_smbusiness&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+rss%2Fmagazines_fsb+%28FSB+Magazine%29

In general I'm against legislating taxes to level a playing field, but since the 'macros' have all sold out to foreign interests, screw em. I stopped consuming Budweiser when they sold out, and cut a good portion of the St. Louis based business staff. It may be a great American lager, but it lost it's appeal. A couple years later I found home and craft brewing.

BTW bumping the 2 million cap to a 6 million cap for a 'small brewery' only helps one brewer: Sam Adams. Congrats Sam Adams share holders. You've won the lobby congress game. Our children will pay for all the tax cuts until there is a balanced budget (cuts in services and/or raises in taxes to zero out income vs expenditures). While craft brewing in general is growing at 8% a year(last I heard), I don't see why they would need a tax cut to weather the current economic conditions.

Our palettes decide this market. This is not intended to rail on craft beer, but provide alternative perspective. I'm happy to see both sides of congress agree on something.

Please keep evangelizing craft beer to your friends.

The Fool.

P.S. I look forward to commentary on this post. I'm open to other points of view.

bikefoolery wrote:In general I'm against legislating taxes to level a playing field

I am as well, except for small and microbusinesses, biased as I am. My problem is the tax system is weighted towards large corporations and multi-million dollar businesses. If any business should be getting breaks, it's the startups and micros.

BTW bumping the 2 million cap to a 6 million cap for a 'small brewery' only helps one brewer: Sam Adams. Congrats Sam Adams share holders. You've won the lobby congress game.

Pretty much what it boils down to being. Yay, you have lobbying power. In truth, a "small brewery" is like porn. I can't clearly define it, but I know it when i see it. Two million barrels of beer is 62 million gallons or 496 million pints. To me that is not a "small" brewery. That is a fuck-ton of beer. Sam Adams brand is a large craft beer. Congrats. But fuck Boston Beer Company for thinking they are small. If you want to help out with taxes, how about making the first 2,000 barrels tax free. That would help out a lot of nano and micro breweries that employ maybe up to 4 people. I think that would do a lot more good.

Our children will pay for all the tax cuts until there is a balanced budget (cuts in services and/or raises in taxes to zero out income vs expenditures). While craft brewing in general is growing at 8% a year(last I heard), I don't see why they would need a tax cut to weather the current economic conditions.

I don't think the government makes that much money off alcohol taxes compared to other taxes that it would effect the budget a practical amount where notice should be taken and addressed. In the grand scheme of things, it's not a revenue issue as much as a spending issue. If Americans and the government would cut the luxury bull shit and simply live within their means, this country would prosper. So much money is wasted on stupid shit that doesn't need to be spent. That's the issue, not revenue in general. The more you make, the more you spend.

I was thinking this portion of the bill would be more important for the "small" craft brewer.

"Currently, breweries pay a $7 dollar tax per barrel for the first 60,000 barrels they produce each year. The bill would drop that fee to $3.50, and for production in excess of 60,000 the tax would fall from $18 per barrel to $16."

Last I heard Boston Beer Company was still quite a bit under 2 million barrels/year but it wouldn't surprise me that Kerry, a senator from Massachusetts, would try to help them out.