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There are many factors that govern our beers, and many times, our favorite beers are shaped by laws most of us never read. I’m joined by Sam DeWitt, the state government affairs director for the Brewers Association, to translate the policy battles quietly reshaping craft beer across the country.

Sam pulls back the curtain on the biggest state-level issues: franchise laws that can lock a small brewer into a distributor for life, why self-distribution is still an “easy win” in states that don’t allow it, and how those rules change what makes it from a taproom to your local bar. We also talk about the real-world headwinds breweries face right now, from rising costs and tariffs to shrinking shelf space and changing drinking habits.

Then we get specific. Sam breaks down where franchise reform is gaining traction, why “Brews to Barns” could turn spent grain donations into meaningful excise tax relief, and what the Brewers Association is watching on the defensive side, including recurring tax pushes and efforts to lower the DUI BAC limit to 0.05. We also get into canned cocktails and “equivalency” bills, plus why some state guilds are struggling to keep up as brewery closures ripple through the industry.

If you care about independent beer, this one comes with a playbook: how to follow your state brewers guild, when to email lawmakers, and what to ask your favorite taproom so your support actually moves the needle. Subscribe, share this with a craft beer friend, and leave a review so more listeners can find Beerwise.