Senate may triple taxes on beer

The Brewers Association (not surprisingly) is calling on beer fans to contact their senators and tell them they oppose tripling the excise tax on 4.5 percent alcohol beers and raising the tax rate even higher on higher alcohol beers.

The association says these tax increases will hurt the smaller breweries, which they call Main Street businesses, the most. "Federal, state and local taxes represent over 40% of the retail price for beer while the same taxes equal nearly 24% of the price for all other purchases," according to the association.

Higher taxes "will worsen the economic recession – resulting in less competitive products, reduced sales and revenues, lost jobs and, for some small brewers, business closures," the association writes.

More information -- including which senators to contact -- is at the association's Web site.