Consider this your heads-up, beer enthusiasts.
Among the federal agencies hit by the shutdown is the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB), which regulates the alcohol beverage industry.
Breweries have to apply for a permit and receive approval from the TTB before they can begin operations.
Those processes have been put on hold, explained Paul Gatza, Director of the Brewers Association, a non-profit trade association. "So it could delay some brewery openings once the shutdown is lifted."
Consumers could also feel the effects, Gatza said. Breweries must get new beers approved through the TTB before they can make them available to the public.
"If the shutdown goes on for an extended time," Gatza said, "beer drinkers won't see much in the way of innovative new brands on the shelves where they buy beer."
#thanks chump