Congressman Maffei recognizes the contributions of New York craft brewers to their local communities. With nearly 100 small and independent breweries in the state of New York (and many more in the planning stages) the industry is primed to make an even bigger impact. A roundtable discussion was organized to connect the Congressman with brewers at Empire Brewing Company in Syracuse, New York to discuss ways to support this growing industry. 

One topic discussed was the Small BREW Act, a federal excise tax recalibration for small brewers. Currently, a small brewer that produces less than 2 million barrels of beer per year is eligible to pay $7.00 per barrel on the first 60,000 barrels produced each year. The proposed legislation would adjust this rate to $3.50 per barrel and would provide eligible breweries with approximately $28 million in savings per year (based on 2012 data). This would assist small breweries in New York with their efforts to maintain and generate local manufacturing jobs.

After the meeting Congressman Maffei agreed to co-sponsor the Small BREW Act and vowed to continue supporting small brewers throughout the state.

For more information on how to connect with members of Congress, visit the Government Affairs section of BrewersAssociation.org.