New beer reforms spell brighter future for Michigan craft beer

Craft beer drinkers and brewers will no doubt be lifting a pint in celebration of legislature that just became law.

Governor Rick Snyder signed several reforms into law Tuesday, calling them “pro growth measures” for Michigan’s ever growing beer industry. Senator Joe Hune championed the reforms saying they would, “bring new opportunities to The Great Beer State.”

The reforms are laid out in five senate bills and three house bills and focus on items like taxes, production and distribution. One of the highlights pertains to start up brewers being able to self–distribute their product if they produce fewer than 1,000 barrels of beer annually.

The reforms also touch on larger brewers and the number of locations they may serve their beer at depending on if they are licensed or not and how many barrels they produce each year. Michigan currently has over 150 breweries and is fifth in the nation for number of craft breweries and eighth for craft beer production.