Craft Brewing And Distilling News for May 13, 2013
May 13, 2013•The battle over beer tax reform is heating up in Congress. On Friday, the Beer Institute—representing large brewers like Anheuser-Busch and MillerCoors—announced that its Brewers Excise and Economic Relief Act (BEER Act) had been introduced in the U.S. House by Tom Latham (R-IA) and Ron Kind (D-WI). Under the BEER Act, beer excise would be cut in half to $9 for big brewers (those above 60,000 barrels), while falling to $3.50 for small brewers (15,001 to 60,000 barrels). The Beer Institute is actively opposing legislation proposed by the Brewers Association, representing small and independent brewers. That bill, the Small BREW Act, was reintroduced in the Senate Friday. It would see federal excise taxes fall from $7 a barrel to $3.50 a barrel on production up to 60,000 barrels. From 60,000 barrels up to 2 million, the rate would fall from $18 to $16 a barrel. Above 2 million barrels the tax would remain at $18 a barrel.
•Park City, Utah’s High West Distillery has debuted its second RTD barrel-aged cocktail, the Barreled Boulevardier. The cocktail is made with Bourbon, Vya sweet vermouth and Gran Classico bitter, and is aged in whiskey barrels for four months. The Barreled Boulevardier is the 16th spirit to join High West’s portfolio. The first barrel-aged cocktail they released was a barrel-aged Manhattan in 2010. High West’s range of small-batch whiskies is currently available in 39 states throughout the U.S. Last fall the group unveiled plans for a new 25,000-square-foot whiskey production facility, which is slated for completion by this December.
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