Samuel Adams Boss Says Gov't Shutdown Affects Craft Brewing

Jim Koch, the 64-year-old co-founder of the Boston Beer Company which bottles Samuel Adams beer and other products in Breinigsville, told CBS News This Morning Thursday that the ongoing federal government shutdown does have an effect on the brewing business.

"Craft brewing is very regulated," Koch said " Every time we have a new beer, we have to have a label approved, every time we have a new brewing process we need federal approval and when we have new beers ready to bring to market, we need federal approval."

New beers intended to be sold across state lines must be approved by the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau, known in the industry as the TTB, according to a report by USA Today. The USA Today report states that federal workers must approve the label and the beer recipe if it utilizes non-traditional ingredients. The report said that while the TTB has stopped approving new recipes and labels, brewery taxes are being levied.

Koch told CBS This Morning that the loan and mentoring program sponsored by the Boston Beer Co. of Upper Macungie and The Rising Tide of Bethlehem has also experienced difficulties due to the government shutdown. Koch did not go into specifics concerning the problem.

"We may have to dump beer," Koch said. "I think we may have to send a six-pack to (Speaker of the House) John Boehner, (R-OH) and Barack Obama."

Koch plugged the company's Utopias craft beer, which carries a high price tag along with a 29 percent alcohol content. He said only 13,000 bottles were produced this year.

"It's not your father's Schlitz," Koch said.

Samuel Adams operates a brewing facility in Breinigsville.