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.”