It's been a pretty crazy time for craft beer in the state of Wisconsin. Faced with a situation where craft beer sales are growing fairly rapidly and macro sales are dwindling, it seems that MillerCoors is now attempting to put a halt to that growth in the name of defending themselves from Anheuser-Busch.
I will freely admit that I'm not a fan of Scott Walker, but I also feel that it's important to note that this is not a Republicans vs. Democrats issue.
Glenn Grothman (the Republican who called the Capitol protestors "slobs") and Bob Jauch (a Democrat from the northern part of the state) voted against passing the motion. It has bipartisan support and bipartisan opposition. By painting this as an evil plot by the Republicans, people are seriously damning the chances that this will be taken out of the budget bill or changed in anyway, as Republicans stand by Governor Walker.
My opinion is that removing this motion from the budget bill, then negotiating it to a point where it helps the state as a whole is something that all Wisconsin voters can agree is a good thing. Protecting small businesses in a growing industry is a good thing, no matter what political affiliation you have. Promoting products that are made in America by companies that are entirely based in America (unlike SAABMillerMolsonCoors or Anheuser-Busch Inbev) is also a good thing.
If small brewers were truly made exempt by the motion? I'd be all for it. While I personally don't like MillerCoors products, the company still employs a good number of people in the state. Anheuser-Busch does not. As a result, I am perfectly fine with Miller protecting itself from A-B. There's just no reason to throw a group that collectively makes up 6 percent of the market under the bus in the process.
If you're in the state of Wisconsin, please help prevent this motion from becoming a part of the budget bill. Contact your legislators and let them know you oppose this motion if Craft Brewers aren't protected
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