Democratic gubernatorial candidate proposes craft beer policy changes

<p>Democratic gubernatorial candidate Ned Lamont is proposing some policy changes that he says would help the growing craft beer industry in Connecticut.</p>

News 12 Staff

Oct 4, 2018, 11:16 PM

Updated 2,029 days ago

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Democratic gubernatorial candidate Ned Lamont is proposing some policy changes that he says would help the growing craft beer industry in Connecticut.
In the state, breweries can only sell up to nine liters of beer at a time on premises. That's about 25 12-oz cans.
Conor Horrigan, the owner of Half Full in Stamford, says some of these regulations are there to help distributors stay afloat.
"We have great relationships with our wholesalers that sell beer, and each time that you kind of change the laws, it takes a little bit more out of them," Horrigan says.
Lamont's running mate, Susan Bysiewicz, also brought up President Trump's tariffs on aluminum, saying the tariffs will make it more expensive to produce canned beer to sell.
Horrigan says it is already starting to have an impact.
"In the last 90 days, we've seen the prices on our cans go up, I think about 10 percent. So that ripple effect is beginning to happen," Horrigan says.
Lamont's opponent, Bob Stefanowski released a statement saying Lamont's tax plan "would raise taxes on the transport of goods by truck by around $300 million," and his "policies would further increase the cost of doing business for Connecticut brewers."

Horrigan says the key is finding something that works for the brewers and distributors as well as the state.
"As with everything, there's usually something in the middle that works for everybody, and I think we should probably work towards that," Horrigan says.


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