Craft beer taps squeezed as shutdown delays new releases

MILWAUKEE (AP) – The nation’s craft beer taps are being squeezed by the government shutdown. The partial shutdown has put new releases on hold, prevented new breweries from opening and stopped shipments of some suds across state lines. The federal agency that regulates alcohol production and distribution is closed. That means government employees can’t issue the permits needed for the beer to flow. Brewers are nervous that they will lose money if brewery openings and seasonal beers are delayed much longer in the dispute over President Donald Trump’s demand for taxpayer funding of a wall along the border with Mexico. Russ Klisch is founder and president of Lakefront Brewery in Milwaukee. He has a suggestion to improve the negotiations between Trump and congressional Democrats: They should get together for a few beers.