The trade association for brewers in the US has provoked the ire of its spirits counterpart in the country, launching a consumer-facing website that directly attacks the liquor industry.
Framed as a promotional tool for brewers’ efforts to “promote moderate consumption and nutritional transparency”, StandWithBeer.org also accuses the spirits industry in the US of “inflating their bottom line by exploiting loopholes in our tax code”.
The website highlights the economic benefits to the country of a healthy beer category.
“Our mission is to provide a comprehensive resource for consumers, the press and elected officials to learn about how beer is unique and provides more options and transparency for consumers than other forms of alcohol,” said Beer Institue CEO Brian Crawford. “StandWithBeer.org also exposes the tactics liquor companies use to exploit tax loopholes that allow them to lower their effective tax rate to the detriment of American consumers and taxpayers.”
In response, the CEO of the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States, Chris Swonger, flagged spirits’ historical gaining of alcohol market share at beer’s expense.”Despite the fact the beer industry has for decades enjoyed significant distribution and tax advantages – with a tax rate that is more than two times lower than spirits – they are still losing consumers,” he said.
“It’s unfortunate big beer companies would stoop to the level of using misleading information to attack the spirits sector and its consumers, rather than investing in beer products that consumers actually want to buy.”
The US beer headlines have been dominated of late by the fallout for Anheuser-Busch from a social media post regarding Bud Light by actor & online celebrity Dylan Mulvaney.
How to get in front of US beverage alcohol consumers – Market Intel
