Following the Brewers Association’s (BA) Annual Craft Brewers Conference, General Counsel Marc Sorini and Director of Federal Affairs Katie Marisic join the Brewbound podcast to discuss the trade group’s legislative agenda and the horizon regulation of the craft beer industry.
The conversation centers on the spirits industry’s efforts to achieve parity between canned ready-to-drink (RTD) spirit-based cocktails and beer, both in terms of taxation and market access. Although equivalence has been in the news lately, it’s nothing new, Sorini said.
“We’ve seen in 20 years that the palette has changed and if the palette moves to places where beer is at a disadvantage, where beer isn’t going to play, it’s a very existential threat not just to a small number of businesses but for all of our members,” he said.
This year, the BA is emphasizing the USPS Shipping Fairness Act (HR3287/S.1663), which would allow the Postal Service to ship alcoholic beverages as private carriers like UPS and FedEx do. The legislation would only apply in states where direct-to-consumer shipping of bev-alc products is currently legal.
“The Postal Service was designed to send mail to all of us, and private carriers don’t always necessarily fill that role, or if they do, the cost could be prohibitive,” Marisic said. “We would like the Postal Service to be allowed to compete in this market.”
In addition to their conversation with Marisic and Sorini, the Brewbound team also welcome Sean McNulty from Selling Craft Beer to discuss the latest news, including Boston Beer’s Canadian cannabev, Minnesota finally releasing the growler and Anderson’s wish Valley not to raise prices for six months.
Listen to the episode above and on popular platforms such as iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher and Spotify.
Have questions, comments, or ideas for guests or podcast topics? Email podcast@brewbound.com.
