Nichevo, Tvarish Young.
We had a nice chat about craft beer in the context of economic development. Now, as the story below clearly outlines, there is no economic development in craft beer owing to the government shutdown ... which Todd Young endorses.
No histrionics are necessary, because I'm guessing that lots of others reading this can spot a disconnect the size of the Grand Canyon.
What isn't clear is whether Rep. Young can. Seems to me that my business is being held hostage in order to further GOP political aims ... and it doesn't look much like economic development at all.
Now the shutdown's getting SERIOUS... as government closure dries up the nation's beer supply, by Lizzie Parry (Daily Mail)
- US federal shutdown closes agency responsible for alcohol licensing
- Craft brewers on the frontline facing financial disaster
- Small businesses and start-ups put on hold indefinitely
- One brewer claims shutdown will cost him $8,000 a month
... Paul Gatza, director of the Brewers Association, which represents more than 1,900 US breweries, said: ‘One could think of this shutdown as basically stopping business indefinitely for anyone who didn't have certain paperwork in place back in mid-August.’
A woman who answered the phone on October 2 at TTB’s headquarters in Washington abruptly hung up on Associated Press after explaining the government was shutdown. Assistant Administrator Cheri Mitchell did not respond to telephone or email messages.
The process of federal licensing for a brewery through the TTB was a bear in the best of times; the shutdown has turned it into a nightmare.
ReplyDeleteNot only has the shutdown precluded any chance of allowing a startup brewery to begin brewing, it's also creating what will be an unthinkable backlog when the TTB re-opens.
The wait between applying for and receiving a federal Brewers Notice (the permit allowing beer to be produced) was already between 3 and 6 months when things were running smoothly.
Keeping in mind that one can't even apply for a Brewers Notice before having secured a building to house the brewery (presumably paying a monthly lease or mortgage payment) and having either acquired possession of, or proof of an expected delivery date of the never-inexpensive brewing equipment, this throws a huge monkey wrench into any startup brewery's plans.
Fortunately for us, although we have already spent the money on the brewing system, we have not yet begun paying for a building. Hoping the backlog doesn't drive the so-called approval process up to a year. Your federal government at work.