As the craft-beer industry matures, business models diverge. The challenge for the industry’s trade group, the Brewers Association (BA), is to prioritize legislation that addresses the needs of its smallest taproom members as well as its largest distributing breweries.
The top three “grassroots advocacy” goals—as explained at the Craft Brewers Conference by BA chief counsel Marc Sorini and director of federal affairs Katie Marisic—address three distinct sales channels: direct-to-consumer; on-premise taproom and brewpub; and chain retail. Together, it’s a bit of a “something for everyone” menu to assure members of all sizes and models that the BA is working on their behalf.
Both Marisic and Sorini emphasize that the three items discussed below are issues about which they hope individual breweries will contact their federal and local lawmakers, even while BA staff push for them in Washington, D.C.