US Government Shutdown Affects Beer Industry

Damn--another hazebro conspiracy to keep NEIPA at the top.

 

But . . . But . . . That means that I might have to buy something available year round.

 

What will happen to say, Other half? They release like 2-3 new beers weekly. Will they have to only can repeat recipes?

 

Thanks for the post. Although I was poking fun in my response, this shutdown is affecting livelihoods and was completely unnecessary. Sad to see these unintended consequences, that although minor overall, shows how tangential this sort of thing can go.

 

Of course they end on a doomsday scenario. How long would the shutdown have to last before we all missed new brands of beer?

 

Obviously, same for the wine industry. Label approval is a big one, but even bigger for the beer industry which has to bottle/can on a short time scale, and can't exactly let beer sit in their tanks and wait for the TTB to open. It's a lot more forgiving for the wine industry, which at this time of year is in no need to empty tanks since we are a few months past harvest, and wineries can bottle shiners (bottles without labels) then run them through the labeler when they do get label approval.

For some breweries, this is going to be a very big issue. We are generally allowed to reprint identical or nearly identical previously approved labels, but since so many breweries are constantly doing new things, this is difficult.

 

It would be nice if the government wasn't involved in beer and wine labels altogether. That way it wouldn't be a problem.

 

While I'm on govt furlough I'm drinking down my cellar and spending more time on BA forums...

 

Does Other Half distribute their beer? My understanding is TTB label approval only applies to beer which is distributed (and out of state, at that?). So TTB label approval doesn't apply to those breweries which sell everything onsite or even self-distribute I believe. The specifics might vary by state perhaps. Someone can confirm or deny this.

 

As long as we have to remit our taxes to them, they'll be all up in our business. And I don't think being under the FDA would be any better.

 

Yeah, that is my understanding, too. The Feds can only require a TTB COLA for beer when it is distributed out of state BUT some states require the COLA for their own state label approval/brand registration.

I'm not good at legalese, but I think that's what this means:

Subpart C—Labeling Requirements for Malt Beverages - §7.20 General.
(a) Application. This subpart shall apply to malt beverages sold or shipped or delivered for shipment, or otherwise introduced into or received in any State from any place outside thereof, only to the extent that the law of such State imposes similar requirements with respect to the labeling of malt beverages not sold or shipped or delivered for shipment or otherwise introduced into or received in such State from any place outside thereof.

No reason why a beer distributed in-state only via a licensed wholesale distributor (either voluntary or because of a mandatory state Three Tier law) would be an exception that I see.

 

This times infinity.

 

You have a lot more faith in people than I do. Certainly there are some absurdities breweries are forced to overcome, such as pictures of kids eating oatmeal or depictions of Santa Claus, but laws requiring uniform labeling standards help ensure consumers are making informed choices.

 

Is that right? I have bought beer before without the ABV printed on the label. I have bought a beer without a date saying when it was made. Beer labels rarely contain ingredients. I don't always feel all that informed despite the government being involved in approving labels.

 

At the risk of running afoul of the terms of this site, I must say I don't see the connection between a southern wall and the (partial) derailment of our beer train. Surely smarter heads will prevail

 

You're right, the labeling requirements don't go far enough. It should be required that the ABV is included on the label so people know how impaired they can expect to become. 1 "beer" can have an ABV 700% or more higher than another "beer" and not be required to disclose that fact? This is madness.

 

Government worker here also but unfortunately not on furlough and am currently working 12hr days. Last time this happened we all got retroactive pay for the lost days so it was essentially paid time off, could use some extra beer drinking time. As far as the BA forums, I do that at work anyway lol. Cheers!

 

I smell potential conspiracy and fraud--maybe even tragedy, and on a mass scale. And I'm not even talking about a regular day at the White House:
Since American lawn mower swills aren't "new beers," might a craft brewery like Founders simply steal (or buy) tanks of it, then shovel it, with added caramel coloring, into their pretty bottles??
Oh, the humanity!

(Oops, posted before commenting.)