The Brewers Association has issued a press released indicates it opposed the BEER Act, legislation introduced in the U.S. house and supported by the Beer Institute.

It begins by explaining that legislation was introduced in Congress that is supported by the BA and called the Small BREW Act. Bob Pease, CEO of the Brewers Association, issued the following statement on the BEER Act:

“While the Brewers Association supports lowering excise taxes for small brewers, the BEER Act is not the way to do it. There are several problematic issues with this legislation including cost to the country, job creation and fairness.

“The BEER Act gives further tax advantages to multinational brewing companies that not only already pay lower rates than purely domestic brewers, but also have cut thousands of U.S. jobs in the past six years and export and shelter their U.S. profits.

“We stand firmly rooted in our support for the Small BREW Act, fair legislation that will allow small brewers to remain competitive in the marketplace, reinvest in their businesses, reinvigorate local economies and continue their role in rejuvenating the job market in the U.S.”

The BA has created an infographic that compares the two measures (enlarge the graphic by click anywhere on it).

In case you missed the Budweiser commercial everybody is talking about, here it is:

And here are a few things people are saying:

– Bud Is Proudly ‘Macro’ Amid Micro-Brews in Swagger-Filled Super Bowl Ad.
– Why the pro-macro beer Budweiser ad is so dangerous.
– Budweiser Ad Declares War… On Itself?
– Analyzing Budweiser’s Hypocritical, Anti-Craft Beer Super Bowl Ad.
– Did Budweiser misfire with its anti-craft beer Super Bowl ad?
– Super Bowl Commercial Shootaround: All the Fast Cars, Cool Insurance, and Unfathomable Sadness We Can Sell You Between Timeouts.

You have to scroll to the bottom of the last one to get to the point, so here it is:

“This commercial is great because it makes fun of Brooklyn. Brooklyn is where I live. And yes, it does at times feature bearded gentlemen sitting in well-lit bars on Sunday afternoons — their dogs within petting range, their children a stroller handle away — enjoying some meticulously brewed craft beer. This is, by most accounts, a perfectly great way to spend a Sunday afternoon. But then you see this bit of jumbled fast-cut nonsense and all you really wanna do is sit on a porch and have someone literally toss you a Bud you unself-consciously refer to as a “cold one.” And even though you’re draped in the star-spangled banner in a manner so emphatic that it’s covering your eyes a bit, and even though you have Revolutionary War–era muskets in both hands because what if the British come back, you catch it perfectly and you glug down that sweet taste of nothing and then you stand up and salute your dog — who is also holding two muskets, and who is winking at you with pride — and you say GOD BLESS AMERICA and GOD BLESS THE INBEV CORPORATION, the BELGIUM-HEADQUARTERED PARENT COMPANY OF THE MIGHTY BUDWEISER (TM).”