The news coming out of Wisconsin regarding craft beer has been a bit disconcerting lately.
The latest is an amendment to the proposed budget that, while it would allow craft brewers to sell directly to retailers, it would also prohibit them from owning beer distributors.
Microbreweries Hopping Mad Over Legislation
The proposal supported by MillerCoors and the Wisconsin Beer Distributors Association combines the brewer’s permit and wholesale and retail licenses given out by municipalities into one permit under state control.
It would ban brewers from purchasing distributors — something craft brewers say they might need later to avoid getting squeezed out of the market by large corporate brewers.
There are many reasons to hate the three-tier system, but if Anheuser-Busch can own a network of distributors, why couldn’t a consortium of craft brewers?