Summary: Craft Brew News – 12/21/18<br><br>Pennsylvania Breweries Face Tax on Beer Sold in Taprooms<br><br>Craft brewery owners in Pennsylvania are attempting to restructure the collection of a forthcoming sales tax that is slated to begin next July and would increase the cost of beer sold directly to consumers for on- and off-premise consumption at the state’s nearly 300 taprooms, tasting rooms and brewpubs.<br><br>As of July 1, 2019, the Pennsylvania Department of Revenue (DOR) will begin collecting a 6 percent sales tax for every dollar of beer sold directly to consumers via brewery taprooms, tasting rooms and brewpubs. The tax would be in addition to the $2.48 per barrel state excise tax that Pennsylvania breweries already pay. <br><br>Chris Lampe, co-owner of Weyerbacher Brewing Company and president of the Brewers of PA, estimated that “90 percent” of the state’s 300 brewing locations would be affected by the implementation of the sales tax.<br><br>“In the past six years, the Brewers of Pennsylvania has gone from 12 members to 250 members and a large portion of those newer members of the Brewers of <br><br>For example, a bar owner would pay about $9 in taxes on a $150 keg purchased from a wholesaler. However, that same keg of beer sold inside a brewery taproom for $5 a pint, at 120 pints, would net $36 in taxes.<br><br> “I can tell you at Weyerbacher it certainly would be passed on and there would be a sign up saying this is exactly why,” Lampe said.<br><br>Anheuser-Busch and Tilray Partner to Research Non-Alcoholic THC and CBD Drinks<br><br>Anheuser-Busch InBev today announced a partnership with Canadian cannabis company Tilray that is aimed at researching non-alcoholic beverages infused with THC (tetrahydrocannabinol) and CBD (cannabidiol).<br><br>In a joint press release, the two companies said they would each invest up to $50 million to better understand the market for beverages infused with cannabis. The arrangement is limited to Canada.<br>Under the terms of the partnership, A-B subsidiary Labatt Breweries of Canada will work with Tilray subsidiary High Park Company, an adult-use cannabis company that makes, sells and distributes cannabis brands in Canada.<br><br>Legal recreational cannabis sales throughout Canada began on October 17, 2018, and A-B InBev is latest major beer manufacturer to partner with a cannabis company north of the border.<br>Constellation Brands has invested more than $4 billion into Canada’s Canopy Growth Corporation, acquiring a 38 percent stake in the process.<br><br>Earlier this month, Congress passed the 2018 Farm Bill, which allows for the cultivation and more widespread commercialization of industrial hemp — a variety of the Cannabis sativa plant that, according to the bill, contains less than 0.3 percent THC. The bill would also exclude hemp from the Controlled Substances Act.<br><br>President Donald Trump is expected to sign the 2018 Farm Bill on Thursday.<br><br>Deschutes Cuts 7 Percent of Workforce<br><br>Oregon’s Deschutes Brewery laid off dozens of employees last week, citing missed growth projections.<br><br>Speaking to Brewbound, Deschutes Brewery president and CEO Michael LaLonde said the company cut about seven percent of its workforce on Thursday. Affected positions came from sales, marketing and operations.<br><br>LaLonde told Brewbound that Deschutes had “staffed up to grow over the past two years” but had to slash its workforce when that growth never materialized.<br><br>Deschutes, which was ranked as the tenth largest craft brewery last year by trade group the Brewers Association, is on pace to finish 2018 with sales of about 315,000 barrels of beer, LaLonde told Brewbound. The 30-year-old beer company’s volume trends are down from a peak in 2016, when it sold 374,313 barrels. Last year, the company’s sales declined 9 percent, to 339,155 barrels.<br><br>Deschutes is the latest craft brewery to...
