Craft brewers hit Capitol Hill
June 9, 2015
Wil Laska, co-owner of Greenbrier Valley Brewing Company, Lewisburg, WV, was featured in a tweet by US Senator Shelly Moore Capito, R-WV, last week. Capito tweeted: “Toasted a West Virginia-grown business @GVBrewingCo in DC this week! #WVMade” and attached a photo of her with Laska.
Laska was on Capitol Hill on June 4 to meet with members of West Virginia’s congressional delegation and talk about the craft brewing industry in the state. This was the first time Senator Capito had been visited by a WV craft brewery representative to discuss the success and challenges of WV small breweries.
Laska also had good face-to-face meetings with Senator Joe Manchin (D, WV) and Representative Evan Jenkins (R, 3rd District), who represents Greenbrier County where GVBC is located.
Laska part of Brewers Association Hillclimb
Acting as a representative of the WV Craft Brewers Guild, Laska joined numerous other craft brewers and brewery owners from across the nation to participate in the annual Brewers Association Hillclimb in Washington, DC.
While not able to meet the state’s other congressmen in person, Laska did meet with staff members of Rep. David McKinley (R, 1st District) and Rep. Alex Mooney (R, 2nd District). During his hill visits Laska was accompanied by Ryan Farrel of the Brewers Association, who provided expertise on the Small Brew Act, which the American craft beer industry is currently supporting in Congress.
Laska said he was encouraged by the interest he found. He said all were cordial and wanted to hear more about the craft beer industry in the state.
Brilliant Stream sends kudos to Laska and the BA for getting this done. We also send a big thank you to Sens. Manchin and Capito, and Rep. Jenkins for taking time to meet in person.
Small Brew Act would help industry grow
The Small Brew Act is legislation supported by the Brewers Association that would reduce federal excise taxes for America’s small and independent craft brewers to encourage employment growth. The infographic below provides some details of the legislation and compares it to the Beer Act, which is promoted by large international brewing interests.
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One comment on “Craft brewers hit Capitol Hill”
Josh Holland
June 9, 2015 at 1:59 pmI’m not a mathematician, but the tax benefits of the BEER Act look pretty good for craft brewers, considering the differences in volume.
$28,437 x 3200 = ~$91 million savings for Craft
$4,755,000 x 4 – $19 million savings for Macro