Spilled-BeerDid you know beer is making you fat? Of course you did. They don’t call it a beer belly for nothing. Nonetheless, a little-known tenet in Obamacare legislation is threatening to save you from your fat, drunken ways – and give Colorado’s craft beer makers a major Obamacare hangover.

According to a blog post by Americans for Tax Reform, here’s the hangover-inducing brew:

“As of December 2016, Obamacare dictates that all brewers must include a detailed calorie count on every type of beer they produce. Failure to comply with the new regulations means craft brewers will not be able to sell their beer in any restaurant chain with over 20 locations. Because [restaurant chains are] a major market for selling beer, it hamstrings smaller craft brewers if they do not comply.”

And, how much does a calorie analysis of beer cost? According to the CATO Institute, it can cost up to $77,000 to implement. For a small brewer, that is incredibly expensive and growth prohibitive. In Colorado, we’re not talking beer money either.  According to the Colorado Brewers Guild, here are some stats on the craft beer industry in Colorado:

  • $1.2 billion – the amount that the industry pumped into the Colorado economy
  • 6,000 – the number of people the industry employs
  • 300 – number of craft breweries in the state
  • 3 – Colorado’s state rank in terms of number of craft breweries in operation

If you didn’t hate Obamacare before, the numbers alone could drive one to drink. Can we repeal Obamacare yet?