Congress is expected to consider the Small BREW (Brewer Reinvestment and Expanding Workforce) Act again. This piece of legislation would make any brewery that brews fewer than 6 million barrels of beer per year eligible for the tax cut. The tax cut is estimated to save small brewing companies over $17 million nationwide this year. The legislation is expected to be introduced in the Senate early this year.

Breweries currently pay a $7 excise tax for the first 60,000 barrels they brew per year. Under the Small BREW Act, that rate would be slashed to $3.50 per barrel, resulting in potential savings of $210,000 per year. The bill also cuts the tax by $2 on the next 1,940,000 barrels produced, resulting in potential savings of $3,880,000 each year.

The impact of this bill on the small and independent breweries across the United States could be impactful.  This segment combines to generate more than $3 billion in wages and benefits, and pay more than $2.3 billion in taxes annually.