The beer industry is one of the jewels of America’s manufacturing sector, supporting more than 2.1 million jobs, 559,545 of which come from the craft industry. Breweries operate in every state and nearly every congressional district in the country. Congress and President Trump have recognized brewers’ economic benefits, and in 2017, they provided two years of federal excise tax relief to every American brewer and beer importer. These tax savings have provided more than $100 million in savings for brewers to reinvest, which has contributed hundreds of millions of dollars of economic investment into communities across the country.

Unfortunately, without congressional action, on Jan. 1, large and regional beer suppliers will see their excise tax payments go up by an average of 4%, and 99% of U.S. breweries will see their excise taxes double. For the more than 2,000 new brewers who opened their doors after the lower federal excise tax was enacted, this tax increase will be a huge financial burden.