Treasurer’s Office Stands Down on Farmer-Brewer License Advisory

Photo: Flickr/IvanWalsh

From contributor Anna Pinkert

Massachusetts brewers holding farmer-brewer licenses can rest easy for now.

An advisory that would have required 50% of raw materials to come from local sources has been rolled back by Massachusetts Treasurer Steven Grossman.

We reported on the advisory last Friday, along with WBUR’s Radio Boston. The farmer-brewer license is the cheapest and most far-reaching license for beer producers who wish to brew, pour and sell their beer on one site. Though some brewers with the license grow a small percentage of their own hops, and others work with farmers to redistribute spent grain, none believed that the 50% rule was a realistic goal for small brewers in Massachusetts.

Before meeting with brewers on Monday, Treasurer Grossman and Alcoholic Beverages Control Commission Chairwoman Kim Gainsboro lifted the controversial advisory. Massachusetts Brewers Guild President Rob Martin said that the meeting had positive results with the Treasurer acknowledging that the advisory was a mistake, inadvertently putting businesses in jeopardy. The Treasurer’s office is planning a series of public hearings to develop ideas for improving relationships between farmers, brewers and the state. Martin is not sure what changes may come about, but for now he’s “excited to get back to brewing.”

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About

Associate Producer, Here & Now Most recently, Jessica worked as an associate producer at WBUR's daily local program, Radio Boston. Jessica moved to Boston in 2008 and has lived many places since leaving her native Texas. After graduating from college, Jessica worked as a federal employee, documentary film festival producer, oral historian, university teaching assistant, traveling saleswoman and klezmer musician. Her work and projects have appeared in The Washington Post, The Christian Science Monitor, Bust, Barnard Magazine, National Public Radio, Public Radio International (PRI), and the BBC. Jessica's freelance radio work has received various awards including accolades from the Religion Newswriters Association and the Dart Center for Journalism and Trauma. As a Fulbright Scholar in El Salvador, Jessica collected and studied oral histories from the Jewish Community based in San Salvador. Jessica received her B.A. in political science from Columbia University’s Barnard College and her M.A. in history from Indiana University. She learned how to make radio from the phenomenal folks at the Salt Institute for Documentary Studies. Jessica lives in Somerville with her husband, twin son and daughter, and two cats. To learn more about Jessica’s projects, both current and past, please visit www.jessicaalpert.com.