HARRISBURG, Pa. – Governor Tom Wolf has announced the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board (PLCB) has approved $1.2 million in grants for 18 projects to increase the production of Pennsylvania-made malt and brewed beverages and enhance the Pennsylvania beer industry through promotion, marketing, and research-based programs and projects.

“Pennsylvania’s craft brewers are some of the most innovative, entrepreneurial people in the food and beverage industry,” said Governor Wolf. “These grants will support the innovation that has made Pennsylvania number one and will help keep us on top. By investing in the industry as a whole, increasing the quality and availability of locally-sourced ingredients, and building the consumer base, we are working to strategically sustain growth.”

Act 39 of 2016 created the Pennsylvania Malt and Brewed Beverages Industry Promotion Board and authorized the PLCB to approve up to $1 million annually for development and marketing of the Pennsylvania beer industry. The Pennsylvania Fiscal Code also allows for unallocated grant funds to be made available in subsequent years.

Since the first two rounds of beer grants awarded more than $1.5 million ($704,985 in 2017 and $816,412 in 2018) to projects, the Pennsylvania Malt and Brewed Beverages Industry Promotion Board recommended utilizing some of the unallocated grant funds from prior rounds for this current round of projects.

The grant projects, summarized in the table here, were recommended for approval to the PLCB by the Pennsylvania Malt and Brewed Beverages Industry Promotion Board.

In addition to the beer grants awarded since 2017, the PLCB has awarded nearly $4 million in grants for the development and promotion of the Pennsylvania wine industry.

The PLCB regulates the distribution of beverage alcohol in Pennsylvania, operates 600 wine and spirits stores statewide, and licenses 20,000 alcohol producers, retailers, and handlers. The PLCB also works to reduce and prevent dangerous and underage drinking through partnerships with schools, community groups, and licensees. Taxes and store profits – totaling nearly $18.5 billion since the agency’s inception – are returned to Pennsylvania’s General Fund, which finances Pennsylvania’s schools, health and human services programs, law enforcement, and public safety initiatives, among other important public services. The PLCB also provides financial support for the Pennsylvania State Police Bureau of Liquor Control Enforcement, the Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs, other state agencies, and local municipalities across the state. For more information about the PLCB, visit www.lcb.pa.gov.