While we wait for the text and bill number of the Brewery Modernization Act, allow me to take a moment to give a talking point about our 2010 agenda.
Although there will doubtless be opponents to our bill, the Brewery Modernization Act will not increase the availability, portability, or strength of beer in any way. It’s only effect would be more local breweries which means that more beer, in areas where beer is already sold, will come from Alabama breweries instead of being imported from other states and countries. There is more of an in-state economic benefit for buying local beer – not only does an in-state retailer get paid, an in-state brewery does as well.
I’m not going to make the claim that the Brewery Modernization Act will save the economy, but I will claim that it can only help and that it will not cost the state a penny. In fact, it will generate state revenue in the form of fees and taxes. If we assume a dozen new breweries open up in Alabama as a result of this bill, that’s $12,000 annually in licensing fees alone. A dozen new breweries would put us about on par with the brewing industry of South Carolina which has a similar culture and population as Alabama. In addition to the licensing fees, there are also the business taxes, the embedded alcohol taxes, the sales taxes, the income taxes of the employees, and the list goes on. (This isn’t an anti-tax rant I promise).
I don’t want to mislead anyone. In the grand scheme of the state economy at-large, I do not expect the Brewery Modernization Act to be a significant boom. However, for the would-be brewery owners and their employees it would mean a viable business and a paycheck. For the beer distributors and retailers around the state, it would mean new products to offer their customers. For the rest of us, it means more local beer choices and the further emergence of beer culture.
And for all of this benefit, we’re only asking the state to make the law more business-friendly to Alabama’s current and potential local breweries. No new state agency needs to be created, no new ABC agents need be hired. The current regulatory structure is more than adequate. Isn’t this legislation just common sense?
2 Comments
I wonder if the lobby for the major beer lines (Anheuser Busch, et al) and maybe the lobbies for the smaller ones will fight the passage of this bill. That would probably be an issue even if there wasn’t an election year coming up.
What could FTR offer that would appease the beer manufacturers who worry locally-brewed beers will cut into their profits in Alabama? Just playing Devil’s advocate. I fully support the cause.
Honestly I doubt we’re even on their radar. We’re one state and even if we pass the sales of local beer is still relatively low compared to the amount of product they move.
In the past, opposition has come from local distributors who would be more directly (and locally) impacted by changes in the beer laws. However in this case, the new (and existing) breweries and brewpubs would need to use distributors to move their product outside of their brewery. So if anything this would be good for them.
The on-premise brewery sales could theoretically cut into their bottom line since the product doesn’t have to go through them. However, I think they realize that’s a small price to pay for new business and honestly the tap rooms and brewpubs will only increase demand for their beer. Imagine you’re from Huntsville and visit some friends in Birmingham and go to a brewpub. You’re blown away by their beer, and then go back and tell everyone at work that beer X is awesome. They then go to the store and see beer X from the Birmingham brewpub in their Huntsville store.