A bipartisan bill working its way through the Senate — the Alcohol Beverage Modernization Act — has the craft brewing industry watching closely. It’s not a slam dunk, and the details matter, but some of what’s in it would represent the most significant federal-level reform to alcohol regulation since the 1980s.
The bill’s most relevant provisions for craft breweries: a restructured federal excise tax that would keep the reduced rate established in 2017’s Craft Beverage Modernization Act permanent (it’s currently renewed periodically and the uncertainty costs breweries real planning headaches), updated definitions that clarify how mixed-fermentation and hybrid beverages are taxed and labeled, and a provision that would allow small producers to ship directly across state lines under a federal framework rather than navigating 50 different state regimes.
That last one is the most consequential and the most contested. The wholesale distribution lobby is strongly opposed, and their opposition has killed similar proposals before. The difference this cycle is that the craft brewing coalition is larger, better funded, and includes some names with genuine Congressional relationships.
The bill is in committee and the timeline for a floor vote is unclear. Even optimistic observers aren’t expecting passage before the end of the year. But its existence — and the fact that it has genuine bipartisan support — is itself a shift from where federal alcohol policy conversations were five years ago.
We’ll be tracking it. The Brewers Association’s legislative update page is the best place to watch for movement.
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