Beer makers spill brew on docks to protest Senate bill

A group of Wisconsin brewers blasted open barrels of beer on the docks of the Milwaukee River on Tuesday in the Brew City's version of the Boston Tea Party.

Their sticky statement was in protest of a little-publicized state Senate bill that they said would create complications for startup breweries.

The big brew-ha is over a proposed update to antiquated, post-Prohibition laws related to the blooming business of craft beer making.

Basically, it divides small brewers into two licensed classes -- those who want to serve food as brewpubs, and those who seek to bottle and distribute their product on a larger scale to groups such as The Brew Crew. The latter would face new restrictions on food service.

The brewers (not to be confused with The Brew Crew), who acknowledge they're not savvy about the legislative process, say it's not fair for new beer makers to have to decide their fate that early.

"Every business takes on a life of its own," said Jim McCabe, proprietor of the Milwaukee Ale House. "For the guy that wants to start a brewery tomorrow, he's got to make decisions early in his business life that aren't possible."

After countdowns in English and German, the kegs were opened with mallets that spewed suds across the deck and into the Milwaukee River.