Rahr Fights for Beer in Washington, D.C.

Jul 19, 2024

Rahr V.P. of Strategic Management Jake Keeler joined industry partners at the Brewers Association’s Hill Climb in Washington D.C. in June.

Hill Climb participants – Photo courtesy of Brewers Association

Since 1847, beer has been at the center of Rahr’s expansive progression and storied position in the industry. Founded as a brewery on the shores of Lake Michigan, Rahr provided a budding community with a beverage that brought them together. Fast-forward almost 180 years and we’re still doing that, albeit in a different capacity through thousands of breweries in North America, New Zealand, Australia and many other countries. Beer is still what drives us, binds us together, and gives us purpose.

Part of that purpose includes assuming a responsibility for beer and acting as a steward alongside others from our industry. In this vein, our VP of Strategic Management, Jake Keeler, participated in the Brewers Association’s Hill Climb in Washington D.C. on June 12th. He represented Rahr along with more than 100 brewery representatives, guild leaders, and other supplier partners to advocate for small and independent breweries in the U.S.  

Participants showed up for a wide array of interests impacting our industry, including expressing support for the U.S.P.S. Shipping Equity Act, the CHEERS Act, and the Credit Card Competition Act, as well as appropriations requests for the Alcohol Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) and USDA hops and barley research. 

Along with Bob Galligan, the Director Legislative and Public Affairs for the MN Craft Brewers Guild, Keeler tag-teamed 8 meetings at various Congressional buildings and offices. Just making the back-to-back 30-minute meetings on time took a good bit of coordination and hustle!

Jake (left) with Bob Galligan, Director Legislative and Public Affairs for the MN Craft Brewers Guild. 

The Jake + Bob team met with MN offices including Klobuchar, Smith, Craig, Stauber, Emmer, Fischbach, Omar, and McCollum to talk beer and to build relationships with our elected officials. It’s safe to say that when you’re representing the beer industry, folks are happy to chat and hear you out.  

Staff were curious, supportive, and willing to keep up an ongoing dialogue. The winds of D.C. may not bend to the beer industry per se, but showing up and making sure our voices are heard is critical. We have a compelling story to tell, and representatives on both sides of the aisle recognize the importance of beer to our economy, communities, and culture. 

Loads of positive energy followed us home to Rahr’s Shakopee campus. Later in June, we hosted Brian Crawford, CEO, and Susan Haney, COO, of the Beer Institute. They toured our maltings, DC operations, the RTC, and Koda Energy. It was enlightening and deeply constructive to discuss how we can partner together to support beer in the U.S.

A visit to the Shakopee MN, RahrBSG Distribution Center.  From left to right:  Josh Keen – Director of DC Operations – RahrBSG, Jake Keeler – VP of Strategic Management – Rahr, Brian Crawford – CEO – The Beer Institute, Darwin Shepherd – Facilities/Safety Manager – RahrBSG, Wes Haynes – Regional Manager – RahrBSG.  Photo courtesy of The Beer Institute.

These experiences have reminded us that we are stronger together, and that we can achieve more through coordinated efforts and a shared voice. We brainstormed creative ideas to keep beer alive and vibrant for everyone, and we spoke at length about the CHEERS Act and how we can help support this bill to incentivize draft sales. To learn more about the CHEERS Act, check out this handy website from the Beer Institute. 

BI visiting the Rahr Technical Center & Brewery in Shakopee MN.. From left to right: Benjamin Stanwood – Microbiologist – RahrBSG, Trevor Cowley – Sr. Director of Corp Research & Innovation – RahrBSG, Susan Haney – COO – The Beer Institute, Theresa Kukar – Director of Corp. Quality Assurance – RahrBSG, Brian Crawford – CEO – The Beer Institute, Jake Keeler – VP of Strategic Management – Rahr, Jake Thompson – Assistant Brewer – Rahr Eagle Brewery. Photo courtesy of The Beer Institute.

Both the BA Hill Climb and meeting with The Beer Institute are by design, as Rahr increases our engagement and involvement with public affairs and legislative matters to advocate and fight for beer.  Both the Brewers Association and The Beer Institute are strong trade organizations for beer in America, and vital partners and allies to our industry. We applaud their tireless work on behalf of this industry, and we are committed to be there, hand in hand, to fight for beer now and forever.  

Our parting message is a call to action; from barley and hop growers, breweries big and small, to retailers serving the public fresh pints – get involved! Your commitment doesn’t need to be a massive and/or expensive one; a quick email to your local, state, or federal representative is a start. Or maybe become familiar with data and statistics that showcase the impact of our industry; two great resources are the BI’s Beer Serves America site, and the BA’s Economic Impact page. Start where you feel comfortable and build from there. Together we are a massive and important voice, and beer needs our advocacy!