Brewers Association of MD Restricts Membership to Craft Breweries Only
(Baltimore, Maryland)- The Brewers Association of Maryland (BAM) announced a change in bylaws to restrict voting memberships and board representation to craft brewers, in light of recent brewery acquisitions by multi-national corporations.
“Given the changing nature of the beer industry and the predatory behavior our members are noticing from mega-beer, the membership has voted unanimously to support a change to BAM’s bylaws to keep the organization focused on local craft beer,” said Kevin Atticks, BAM’s executive director.
State brewers guilds across the country have been forced to decide the status of local brewers’ membership upon acquisition by mega-corporations such as Anheuser-Busch InBev and Constellation.
“It is virtually impossible for large, multi-national industrial breweries to share the same interests as small, local, independent craft breweries,” said Ben Savage, president of the Brewers Association of Maryland and CMO of Flying Dog Brewery in Frederick. “We wanted to be proactive in making sure that the voting voice of our membership truly represented Maryland craft beer.”
“Craft brewery” is defined by the national Brewers Association as having an annual production of six million barrels of beer or less (approximately 3 percent of U.S. annual sales).
“State guilds are the voice independent craft brewers have when it comes to advocating for their interests in the legislatures or within the larger brewing and distribution communities in their states,” said Bob Pease, president and CEO of the Brewers Association, the national organization of craft brewers. “Maintaining the clarity of that voice is essential to preserving the viability of independent brewers in an increasingly challenging marketplace.”
About the Brewers Association of Maryland
The Brewers Association of Maryland (BAM), founded in 1996, is the non-profit trade association of Maryland brewing companies. The mission of BAM is to promote, protect and grow Maryland beer through marketing, advocacy and education. There are 50+ licensed breweries in Maryland. For more information, log onto www.marylandbeer.org
