Brewers Association urges small breweries to prepare for a new Washington agenda after the midterms

The Brewers Association is telling small and independent breweries to prepare for a new political landscape in Washington after the Nov. 3 midterm elections, with trade policy, hemp regulation and tax-related proposals likely to shape the industry’s agenda over the next two years.

In a government affairs update published on Nov. 4 and highlighted by Beer Alien on Nov. 8, the Brewers Association said Democrats won control of both the House and Senate, creating divided government for the final two years of President Donald Trump’s second term. The trade group said that shift does not guarantee immediate policy changes, but it does change where brewers may try to press their case and which issues could get attention in the lame-duck session before the end of the year and when the 120th Congress convenes in January 2027.

The group’s first concern is tariffs, especially on imported aluminum and other materials used by breweries. The Brewers Association said it expects the incoming Congress to place more emphasis on oversight of the administration, including trade policy. In the group’s view, that could give small brewers an opening to argue that tariffs have raised costs for cans and other inputs and to push for more consideration of small domestic businesses in future trade decisions. The association did not describe that as an announced congressional plan. It presented it as an area where it believes oversight could create pressure or opportunity.

That matters well beyond political messaging. For brewers and other beverage companies, any sustained increase in packaging costs can squeeze margins, affect pricing and complicate supply contracts. Aluminum costs are especially sensitive for small breweries that rely heavily on canned products and often have less leverage than larger producers when they negotiate with suppliers.

The Brewers Association also said federal lawmakers could revisit the regulation of intoxicating hemp-derived products. According to the group, Congress may look again at issues such as consumer safety, labeling and age standards. It flagged hemp policy as a possible issue both in the lame-duck session and in the next Congress, while stressing that no specific outcome is assured. The question has become increasingly important for breweries because hemp beverages compete for shelf space, distributor attention and consumer spending, even though they sit in a different regulatory lane in many markets. A stricter or more clearly defined federal framework could change the competitive balance across several beverage categories.

On tax and operating policy, the Brewers Association pointed to a set of bipartisan proposals that it said could continue to attract support. Those include the Brews to Barns Act, which would create a tax credit tied to brewers’ spent grain, a push to modernize federal excise tax reporting requirements and efforts to increase competition in credit card processing. None of those proposals is law. Still, each speaks to day-to-day business pressures for small breweries, from waste disposal and tax compliance to payment processing fees.

The trade group suggested that the biggest immediate challenge may not be any single bill, but the turnover among lawmakers who have supported brewers in the past. It said at least 33 of the 147 members listed on the House Small Brewers Caucus will not return to their current House seats next year. In the Senate, the Bipartisan Small Brewers Caucus is set to lose three retiring members and at least one incumbent who lost reelection, according to the association.

That turnover means the industry may need to rebuild its congressional relationships almost from scratch in some offices. The Brewers Association said restoring those caucuses and meeting incoming lawmakers will be critical. It is directing brewers to its annual Hill Climb advocacy event in Washington and encouraging breweries to invite newly elected representatives to visit their facilities, meet workers and see how federal policy affects local operations.

The message from the association is that brewers should start early. It urged brewery owners to learn who will represent their districts when the new Congress is seated in January 2027 and to begin making the case on issues such as aluminum costs and the reporting burden placed on small businesses. That advice reflects the larger reality facing the industry after the midterms: many of the issues that affect breweries most are still unresolved, and the next phase will depend less on what was settled on Nov. 3 than on what lawmakers choose to prioritize once the new Congress begins work.