The 2026 Craft Brewers Conference will be held in Philadelphia later this month, and we’ll be there. The DMV is well-represented on the Brewers Association (BA) Board of Directors. Of the sixteen members, two come from Virginia breweries and one from DC. We chatted with Bill Butcher from Alexandria’s Port City Brewing Company, Leah Cheston of Right Proper Brewing Co. in DC, and Melissa Romano of Lake Anne Brew House in Reston about the challenges facing small independent breweries and the lead up to CBC 2026.
As Cheston notes, “The three of us collectively cover our 3 membership classes of the BA: Me – Brewpub Representative; Melissa – Taproom Representative; Bill – Packaging Brewery Representative.”
Butcher sets the scene. “Small brewers are faced with rising prices in many areas, transportation, ingredients, CO2, etc. The aluminum tariff is an unnecessary burden on our fellow brewers that makes it even tougher to be successful, especially in a time of weakening demand. What’s more, Metro DC has taken more than its share of difficulties over the past year. Much of it is unnecessary, such as the tariffs, DHS agents in the streets, and other issues that make going out to restaurants and bars less appealing. These challenges make it even more difficult for local brewers to thrive.”
DC Beer: What does the nomination process look like within the BA? Does someone nominate you, do you throw your proverbial hat into the ring and give a speech, or something else?
Melissa Romano: The BA nomination process is straightforward: there is a formal call for nominations and interested members self-nominate. While there are no speeches required, candidates answer an industry experience survey and then upload a campaign video. Members can view this video on the BA website before the elections. This year the Governance committee, which I chair, is looking at additional prerequisites that may be included in coming elections (e.g., BA committee or State guild service, former non profit board service).
Bill Butcher: The Board decides on the applicants to put forth for election. We submit answers to 3 or 4 questions about what our priorities are, what we see as the biggest issues facing the industry, and how we think we can contribute to the Board. The voting members of BA vote by category: Brewpub, Taproom Brewery and Packaging Brewery. There are an allotted number of seats to each category, and member breweries vote in their respective category.
DCB: Do you think the three of you have a geographic advantage, given your proximity to Congress and thus elected officials at the national level?
Leah Cheston: I think an ideal board has representation from all over the U.S. But it is nice to have people in the DC area that can support our federal lobbyist, attend congressional events, provide beer for congressional events, attend events with allied trade organizations that are based in DC (Beer Institute and NBWA) and offer a brewery for congressional staff to visit to understand how craft breweries operate.
BB: The annual Hill Climb is our advocacy day for the Brewers Association, and we get brewers in from all over the country. This year’s Hill Climb had about 100 breweries from all over the U.S., and we had about 200 meetings with Congress. We are also fortunate to have our Vice President of Government Affairs, Marc Sorini, based locally.
DCB: What’s on the legislative agenda for the next year or so?
MR: On the legislative front, a big focus for the BA right now is continued support for tariff relief and a new effort to push for a tax credit for donating our spent grain. This national push, which we’re calling “Brews to Barns,” is modeled after [legislation introduced] in Texas called “Beers to Steers.” We’re hopeful to secure a sponsor for this act and really get things rolling this year. That was the primary focus of this year’s “hill climb” last month.
BB: [Recycling spent grain] is an environmentally positive practice that keeps our spent grain out of the waste stream and repurposes it for high quality, protein rich animal feed. We believe that this would provide an incentive to maintain this green practice.
LC: The long term approach is to help get more aluminum smelting plants in the U.S. But this will take a minimum of 5 years to build, so we’re asking for temporary relief of the tariffs knowing that the long term solution is in the works…. [CBC] is an opportunity to educate our members more on the legislative agenda and increase membership engagement on those issues at both the state and federal level.
BB: I am very much looking forward to CBC this year. Having it in Philly makes it easy for our team to attend, just a quick Amtrak trip up north. CBC always is a reenergizing event for me, and it comes at a time when we all can use a bit of renewed energy. It’s a great opportunity to remind ourselves of what a great industry we work in! The keynote will be given by Will Guidara (Unreasonable Hospitality) and everyone I’ve talked to is looking forward to it…. I’m in my second year on the Board, and it’s been a great experience so far. Leah, Melissa, and the other members have made me feel welcome as a newer Board member.
DCB: The three of you occupy different spots in the brewing industry. Lake Anne Brew House is a brewpub, Port City is a production brewery with a taproom, and Right Proper has, or soon will have, both of these models. Can you speak to the challenges you face and how the BA helps?
LC: I think many of our challenges are the same, they may just hit us differently. For example, the rising costs particularly of aluminum, steel, and shipping is going to impact the packaging facilities a little more than the on-premise. Whereas the rising labor costs and changes in tipped employees pay structure, as well as the changes of consumer behavior hits the on-premise a little harder. The BA’s mission is to promote and protect. I think the BA staff is doing a good job figuring out how to do these things where it helps all members, regardless of size and business model. Increasingly, size is probably the largest differentiator, as more and more breweries are working across all three business models – taproom, brewpub and packaging – as Right Proper is. But efforts such as the Brews to Barns on the legislative side and American Craft Beer Week on the promote side helps all of us.
DCB: What would you like the public to know about your roles in the BA?
BB: I believe the BA can be an important voice for small, independent American breweries. We can help brewers with technical advice, as well as put on great events and competitions. These are great ways to showcase the best quality beer in the U.S. We also continue to promote our industry with the goal of increasing demand for our products in a responsible manner.
MR: I was elected seven years ago as the first representative for the “taprooms” membership class when it was created in 2019. My specific passion is supporting smaller, community-focused businesses like my own, and ensuring their voices are heard at the national level.
DCB: What’s new with Lake Anne, Port City, and Right Proper?
MR: Lake Anne Brew House is gearing up to celebrate 10 years this April, and we are expanding our taproom into an adjacent former retail space, which was vacated by its long-time tenant last year. We are a small, community focused taproom in Reston, VA, built to be a third space with the mission of “Brewing Beer and Building Community.” We’re pretty proud of what we’ve accomplished on our little 2 Bbl system over the decade since we opened our doors in 2016, and we’re looking forward to many more years to come.
BB: Chela is bright pale gold, crystal clear, and is the newest addition to our popular Lager Series. This 4% Mexican-style lager is slightly sweet, light-bodied, crisp, clean, and endlessly refreshing.
DCB: It’s also our Beer of the Month for April at The Brew Shop in Arlington!
LC: Our original location in Shaw has moved operations to the former Brookland Pint Space at 716 Monroe St. NE, DC on the Brookland Arts Walk. We will do some quick remodeling in the space and aim to reopen later this month as Right Proper Kitchen. No brewing at this location – it’s more of a restaurant extension to our production brewery & taproom half a mile down the road. Our new brewpub buildout in Eckington is still underway and hoping to open this fall. We have reaffirmed that a new buildout is not for the faint of heart – the challenges and delays have been vast. We’re finding timelines and costs have at least doubled since our first buildout in 2013. We will get there though and are so looking forward to joining the Eckington neighborhood and having 3 locations on the Metropolitan Beer Trail!
