New bill passed to help local breweries

Governor Terry McAullife signed a new bill to help make life a little easier for beer crafters.

House Bill 859 will provide sales and use tax exemptions on beer-making equipment and materials.

Delegate Steve Landes proposed the legislation. The goal is to help current craft breweries expand their operations and to also encourage other new breweries to come to the Valley.

Aaron Allen, with Seven Arrows Brewing Company, wished the bill had been passed earlier.

"Anything that we can do to keep money in the pockets of the small business owners is going to help the community. It's going to help the businesses grow, and it's going to help expand our impact to the overall economy here in the state," said Allen.

Allen believes more large breweries will want to come here once the bill takes effect on July 1, 2016.

This bill comes just a few days after National Beer Day, which was last Thursday. We spoke with Shenandoah Valley Brewing Co. on that day, and you can find the story in the Related Links section of this page.