Government Shutdown Hurting the Craft Beer Game

There might not be many craft beers this summer.

It's surprising to think there are people that don't always drink Busch Light. Craft beers have never really been my taste but I appreciate the fact that people continue to make their own craft beers and it's always great to hear success stories of local people making their own brews. But the federal approval process for new beers has been halted due to the government shut down. The reason is because the labels and recipes for new beers, wines, and other alcoholic beverages are reviewed by the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau. Of course this is one of the government agencies that has been shutdown for the past few weeks.

Even if there is a quick resolution, the bureau will have a ton of backlogging to do because even in the shutdown, applications for labels and brewery locations requiring certifications are still being accepted.

In 1995 the government was shutdown for 21 days (which has been the longest in American history.) Des Moines brewery "Exile Brewing Co." had a craft beer named after President Clinton after the government shutdown ended. It was called Exile Chill Clinton that was a beer infused with 750 hemp seeds.