Senator Bob Casey recentlydropped by Susquehanna Brewing Co. in Pittston, Pennsylvania to meet with brewery co-owners Mark Nobile and Fred Maier. During his visit, the Senator promoted the Small BREW Act (S. 917), which would provide a federal excise tax reduction 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 breweries like Susquehanna with their efforts to maintain and generatelocal manufacturing jobs.

Senator Casey continues to be an advocate for small breweries in Pennsylvania and across the country. He recently visited both East End Brewing Co. and Allentown Brew Works.