New York’s senior U.S. Senator Charles Schumer was in Lake Placid today to tour a craft brewery and announce legislation that would cut the federal excise tax on the product.
New York State is one of the top five craft beer producers in the U.S., and Senator Charles Schumer is working to support what he says is one of the fastest growing industries in upstate New York.
Standing on the deck of the Lake Placid Pub and Brewery overlooking Mirror Lake, Senator Schumer said he is introducing the Small BREW - Brewer Reinvestment and Expanding Workforce Act.
Schumer announced the legislation after a tour of the Lake Placid Pub and Brewery, a craft brewery that has been in business for 17 years.
The Lake Placid brewery is one of the largest in New York, producing 1,200 barrels, or 300,000 pints, annually. It employs 70 people, and the beer is distributed in nine states. The company has won national, international and state awards, including being named best brewery in New York twice and best in the Hudson Valley four times. It produces about 80 different styles of beer. Proprietor and Brewmaster Chris Ericson, who is on the board of the New York State Brewers Association, says this is the second time such legislation has been introduced.
Schumer cited a Harvard study that predicts increased economic activity of 153 million dollars in the small brewery industry nationwide if the cut in the excise tax is passed. The study indicates that each dollar saved from the cut would generate nearly $11 in economic activity. Ericson says that reflects what he expects to happen in his business.
Fellow Democrat Congressman Bill Owens, who accompanied Senator Schumer on the tour, is introducing companion legislation in the House. From Lake Placid, Schumer continued on to McCadam Farms in Chateaugay to promote upstate cheese production.