Budget repair beer bill could burn local craft brewers (Wisconsin)

Here is your truly on local TV.
http://www.weau.com/home/headlines/Budget_repair_beer_bill_could_burn_local_craft_brewers__123138013.html

It’s just a blatant move by big business to crush their competitors. The fact that our legal system is set up to cater to these corrupt pricks is a disgrace. Yup. I thought developing  small businesses was desirable according to the pundits of both parties. /rant

Congrats on getting a plug on local TV and for standing up to what could be a deadly move for local businesses!  Keep us informed, maybe the power of Homebrewers could unit again to help your cause.

It is kind of ironic.
I got a free publicity for something that can ruin my business.
We shall see how it plays out.
If someone here is from Wisconsin, contact your Senator / Representative and tell them that you oppose the changes in 125 chapter that regulates how breweries operate.

I’m still unclear about how the law change would work.

Currently, any small brewer (up to what Barrel output?) is able to self-distribute their beer, cutting out the wholesaler from the picture. (right?)

The law would force the small brewers (Again, between what Barrel outputs?) to use a wholesaler which would cut into the margins.  (right?)

Ostensibly, this bill was added by the Miller lobby to limit Bud/InBev ability to sell to the market. (right?)  How would the proposed law do that?

Thanks

I sorry to say it but welcome to Iowa’s beer laws.  You can only self distribute in your own pub.  If the beer leaves you premises in anyway, you have to work through a licensed distributor.  In a nutshell to even sell growlers of your beer the distributor has to pickup your packaged beer, tag it with their mark and redeliver it to your pub.  For a fee and a few taxes of course.

I’m not a professional brewer but I’ve listened to the pros here enough to know it’s a huge PITA for them.  Just another gift from AM-Bev and SAB to make life difficult for the small brewer.

Good luck and I hope this section of the bill gets culled before passage.

Paul

Yeah, I’ve looked at that budget repair stuff and I too haven’t been able find the real details of what’s going on.  All they want to talk about is the union stuff and whatnot.

This is a lot like what just happened in Illinois, where brewer’s rights to self distribute were in jeopardy, through a big-beer lawsuit, but after legislation got drafted to fix it, some clever items that make it impossible for brewpub locations to distribute (although if they have an accompanying, but separate brewing location, they can self distribute that beer) got added in by the various lobbies and that ended up being in the final bill that was passed.