The Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board has awarded grants totaling $704,985 to 13 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.
“Brewing beer is an important industry to Pennsylvania’s economy that is growing,” Governor Tom Wolf said in a press release announcing the awards. “These grants build on the bipartisan efforts to modernize our beer laws and support the industry to create job opportunities from the farm to the brewery, pub and grocery store.”
The projects include:
– $127,500 for “Pennsylvania Pursue Your Hoppiness,” which will identify “beer trails” where tourists can visit multiple regional microbreweries, and to develop a statewide “brand identity” for the state’s breweries.
– $136,154 to Penn State for two projects, one studying the effect of fungicides on hops and the other improving hops-drying techniques to preserve their aromatic compounds.
– $10,000 for Hops on Lots Pittsburgh, which turns vacant properties into hops farms to supply local breweries.
– $7,147 to the Montgomery County Planning Commission for two “matchmaking events” in 2018 to connect interested farmers with local brewers in order to strengthen Montgomery County’s role in the local brewing economy.