Colorado

Colorado breweries warn new tax hike bills could lead to more small business closures, job losses

Published

7 days ago

March 4, 2026

Colorado breweries warn new tax hike bills could lead to more small business closures, job losses

A bartender pours a beer at a bar in Summit County on Thursday, Feb. 29, 2024. A new bill intended to provide funds for alcohol-related addiction prevention, treatment and recovery programs could cost small breweries and wineries up to 160% in taxes and fees.
Andrew Maciejewski/Summit Daily News

Colorado brewers are raising red flags over new bills that could increase taxes and fees on small alcohol businesses, many of which are already struggling to keep their doors open.

House Bill 1271, known as the Alcohol Impact & Recovery Enterprises bill, creates three government-run enterprises designed to fund programs for alcohol-related addiction prevention, treatment and recovery programs — all funded through fees imposed on alcoholic beverages. The bill is sponsored by four Democratic lawmakers.

Colorado per capita alcohol consumption is higher than the national average. The state also has one of the higher alcohol-related death rates in the country, with around 24 deaths per 100,000 residents as of 2023, according to data from Trust for America’s Health.

Data from the Colorado Health Institute shows not everyone who could benefit from treatment for alcohol use disorders currently receives it, largely due to factors like cost, accessibility and stigma.

Were the bill to pass, manufacturers and wholesale distributors would have to pay five cents in fees per gallon of beer, cider and apple wine, seven cents per liter of wine and 35 cents per liter of spirits to be used toward alcohol-related treatment and recovery programs. As state lawmakers plan cuts to balance a $850 million budget deficit, advocates for these programs argue the funding from the bill could help offset any potential losses.

For local breweries and wineries in the mountains, however, this would be a significant financial blow to an already struggling industry.

“This is not the time for us to be implementing new taxes on an industry that is hurting right now,” said Carlin Walsh, owner of Elevation Beer Company and chair of the Colorado Brewers Guild. “As a brewer, I feel like the state is looking a gift horse in the mouth.”

Beer, wine, cider and spirits generate around $22 billion in economic activity for Colorado, according to the Colorado Beverage Coalition. The state is home to nearly 420 breweries, 145 wineries, nearly 20 cideries and 100 distilleries.

Faced with rising costs and waning appetites, however, over 100 Colorado breweries have shuttered their doors since 2024, marking the first time since 2005 that more breweries closed than opened. Meanwhile, national surveys confirmed alcohol consumption in the U.S. is at a 90-year low.

Walsh said breweries already pay eight cents per gallon in taxes, which for a company like Elevation translates to roughly $30,000 in taxes annually. Fees from the new bill would add another $12,000 to its yearly expenses.

“The alcohol industry at large is one of the most regulated industries in the United States, period. We already pay a very heavy tax,” Walsh said, adding that breweries provide tens of millions of dollars to Colorado’s general fund. “Our position is that there’s already money available. Those dollars go to the general fund, and it’s really up to the state to manage what we already provide and to decide what is their priority. We don’t feel like it should be on our shoulders to increase the amount that we pay to the state just because the state wants to endeavour on new programs.”

The Colorado Beverage Coalition said the imposed fees would be a 60% cost increase on alcohol businesses. Paired with an estimated 100% increase in taxes from a referred ballot measure proposed last week — House Bill 1301 — the impacts would be disastrous for the industry, Walsh said.

House Bill 1301 would refer a measure to the November ballot that would increase excise taxes on alcohol and increase sales and excise taxes on marijuana in order to fund a mental health hospital in Aurora.

“Our brewery and so many other breweries, we just don’t have capacity for that. We’re already a low margin business to begin with,” Walsh said. “If this happens, this is going to drive further consolidation amongst our members. It’s going to drive further closures.”

Larger alcohol companies may be in a better position to absorb some of the costs from increased fees, said Shawnee Adelson, executive director for the Colorado Brewers Guild. Small businesses in rural resort markets, on the other hand, are not in that position.

“At a certain point when costs just keep going up and up and up, there’s no more place to cut,” Adelson said.

Colorado jobs, tourism could see ripple effects

The Colorado Beverage Coalition estimates House Bill 1271 could impact several of the 131,000 brewery, winery and distillery jobs in the state.

The Colorado Beverage Coalition estimates House Bill 1271 would jeopardize 131,000 brewery, winery and distillery jobs in the state, in addition to “greatly increasing cost on consumers.” Walsh said an average brewery would “no doubt” have to cut jobs if either, or both, bills were to pass.

“Depending on the size of a brewery, it could be the cost of a full-time staff or multiple full-time staff to cover the cost of these (fees), so there is a real concern about job losses due to increased costs,” Adelson added.

The Colorado Distillers Guild also argues the bill would be a blow to the tourism industry, as visitors could be deterred by increased consumer costs and a dwindling beer culture.

“A lot of (breweries) will either have to absorb that cost or pass it on to the consumer. And right now, in the current state of the economy, we understand that a lot of consumers are price conscious right now, which is also contributing to lower consumption,” Adelson said. “Passing on that price is going to be really hard for consumers to swallow as well.”

The bill is not entirely new, as similar legislation by the same name was proposed in 2024. The original bill, which died in committee, received significant pushback from Gov. Jared Polis due to concerns that it would end up raising prices for consumers. Polis also requested that sponsors exempt beer companies from the fees.

Aside from a stakeholder meeting ahead of the bill’s introduction, Adelson said the Colorado Brewers Guild had not been contacted by lawmakers about the plan for an excise fee increase.

“We’ve had two years to sit down and have discussions with lawmakers about this. Nobody has reached out. Nobody has sat down with us to say, ‘Hey, this is our goal. We wanna get this done. How can you guys meet us halfway?’” Walsh said.

Being an enterprise fee rather than a tax, House Bill 1271 would not go to voters for approval. Instead, the change would be implemented through legislation only and automatically go live in July 2027. Because the bill would create three separate enterprise fees for beer, wine and spirits — each capped at $20 million annually per state law — the state could collect up to $60 million from all three.

The bill would also create a new 11-member board appointed by the governor to oversee the three enterprises, which would be made up of alcohol industry representatives, behavioral health professionals, public health experts and individuals in recovery.

On top of feeling that a financial change of that magnitude should be left up to voters, Walsh said he’s heard from businesses that are concerned about the potential for the board to increase fees in the future.

“There are very few guard rails around how this enterprise can operate, including the ability for them to raise the tax price that we’re currently paying. There’s very few restrictions within this bill that control how much they can increase that tax,” Walsh said. “In two years they could come back and say, ‘Oh we’re going to increase it another five cents or 10 cents.’”

For Adelson, the fees would impact more than just manufacturing facilities and business operations.

“They’re community gathering spaces and they’re third places,” Adelson said. “They give back a lot and so I think I just want to make sure that the consumer realizes that we’re not just talking about production facilities, but your local neighborhood brewery that’s down the street and that your neighbours own or your friends work at.”

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Colorado

‘It’s Not a Penalty’: Bednar Rips Officials For MacKinnon Ejection | Colorado Hockey Now

Published

2 hours ago

March 11, 2026

Press Room

‘It’s Not a Penalty’: Bednar Rips Officials For MacKinnon Ejection | Colorado Hockey Now

Head coach Jared Bednar is often calm and calculated during his postgame press conferences. But his frustrations were made loud and clear on Tuesday, following the Avalanche’s 4-3 loss to the Edmonton Oilers at Ball Arena in a game that saw superstar center Nathan MacKinnon get ejected late in the second period.

With the Avs on the power play trailing 2-1, MacKinnon entered the Oilers’ zone with speed and received an east-to-west pass from Martin Necas. MacKinnon’s shot went wide, but with little space to maneuver because Oilers defenseman Darnell Nurse was cutting in on him, MacKinnon barreled into goalie Connor Ingram and was handed a five-minute major and a game misconduct.

“[MacKinnon] makes the play on the puck, and I got his toes cutting up ice probably through the top of the paint, and Ingram’s on the goal line. There’s no chance that he hits the goalie if Nurse doesn’t run into him. He’s not hitting the goalie,” Bednar said, after watching his team fall to 43-11-9 on the season.

Ingram left the game with an injury and did not return.

“I don’t care if he’s injured, not injured, if it’s a severe crash, not a severe crash. It’s not a penalty,” Bednar said. “If you put guys in your own goalie, it’s not a penalty.”

The MacKinnon call prematurely ended the Avs’ second power play of the night. They successfully killed off the 4:05 remaining on the major and tied the game, but couldn’t secure a point.

Ross Colton, Necas, and Valeri Nichushkin had Colorado’s goals. Unfortunately for Colton, he left the game with an upper-body injury in the second period and did not return.

“He took a shot from a player during the game and he kind of tightened up so he’s got an upper-body injury. Hopefully he loosens up for tomorrow and can play in Seattle,” Bednar said.

Mackenzie Blackwood started for the Avs after getting pulled in Dallas two games ago. He let in three goals on his first 10 shots before locking in later in the game. Blackwood made several big stops during the lengthy PK before Nichushkin tied it up. But it still wasn’t enough. Blackwood finished with 20 saves.

The Oilers finished 2-for-4 on the power play, getting the game-winning goal from Connor McDavid on a spectacular give-and-go with Leon Draisaitl with 10:57 remaining in regulation. Both of them finished with two points, while Ryan Nugent-Hopkins had two goals.

Colorado had a power play after that, but could not capitalize. Necas’ tally came on the PP earlier in the evening, and the Avs finished 1-for-3. Colton’s goal came just 24 seconds into the first period, which snapped his nine-game goalless drought.

All of the Avalanche’s best plays were in the first and third periods. The second was a different story.

“I’ll give you an example, three or four times at the start of the second period, we try to go in on a rush, and we lose it and change, and they get odd-man rushes and a scoring chance against,” Bednar said. “You can’t do that. You can’t do that against anybody, never mind the best offensive team in the league.”

Edmonton also played with a shortened bench. On top of losing Ingram to an injury, forward Colton Dach, and defenseman Ty Emberson also left with ailments and did not return. From the moment MacKinnon was ejected, the pace of the game changed. Frustrations were noticeable on both sides.

“It was a great game up until that,” Nazem Kadri said. “I think it was a good battle out there. Players were playing hard and, you know, it’s unfortunate that’s how it’s gotta end.”

Kadri was also vehemently against the MacKinnon call.

“I think Nate makes an effort. He’s diving across the top of the crease to try to get out of the way, like that’s a part of the rule for the player to at least make some sort of attempt. There was clear contact. I have no idea how that was a five-minute,” he said.

Good: Nichushkin Is Heating Up

When he’s been available to play, there haven’t been many bad stretches for Nichushkin. His on-ice production has been solid over the past three regular seasons. But this year, the 30-year-old veteran forward has had tough stretches. Entering the break, and coming out of it, Nichushkin wasn’t producing at the rate he usually does.

Over the past three games, he’s looked more like the power forward that we’ve grown accustomed to. And he’s gotten rewarded for it on the scoresheet.

Bad: The Penalty

I had a hard time deciphering if it was or wasn’t a penalty on MacKinnon when it first happened. I watched replays, I slowed them down, and I started to form an opinion.

But regardless of whether MacKinnon should’ve been called for anything, it shouldn’t have been a five. That part I can’t wrap my head around.

Bednar was frustrated and asked about it again. He added, “I really don’t give a crap if the goalies hurt. That’s on their D.”

Good:

Bad: Defensive Breakdowns

Each of the first three Edmonton goals were scored by guys that were open in front of the goal. On the first two,

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Colorado residents should prepare for Xcel power outages this week as fire danger surges, utility says

Published

14 hours ago

March 10, 2026

Press Room

Colorado residents should prepare for Xcel power outages this week as fire danger surges, utility says

Xcel Energy is warning its customers along the Front Range to be prepared for possible power outages this week as the risk of wildfire surges due to hot and dry weather.

“Due to the elevated risk of wildfire, enhanced powerline safety settings are active across out Front Range service territory,” according to a social media post from the utility. The settings make the powerlines more sensitive and prompt a line to stop the flow of electricity if an object touches a line.

The highest risk for wildfire danger will be Thursday, Friday and Saturday, when strong gusty winds are forecasted, according to the National Weather Service.

Humidity could be as low as 10% and winds may top 25 mph, leading to critical and extremely critical fire weather between Thursday and Saturday, forecasters said.

Tens of thousands of customers have lost power in recent months from planned outages during fire danger and powerline damage from high winds.

In December, 86,040 Xcel customers lost power because of a mix of planned shutoffs and downed powerlines from high winds. The decision led some customers to criticize the utility, asking it to fine-tune its weather responses.

Some schools in northern Colorado schools preemptively canceled classes in January after Xcel announced a planned power shutoff for 9,000 customers in the area.

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Colorado

An Evening Against Edmonton | Colorado Avalanche

Published

1 day ago

March 10, 2026

Press Room

An Evening Against Edmonton | Colorado Avalanche

Edmonton Oilers (31-25-8) @ Colorado Avalanche (43-10-9)

8 p.m. MT | Ball Arena | Watch: TNT, truTV, HBO Max | Listen: Altitude Sports Radio (92.5 FM)

After back-to-back shootout victories, the Avalanche concludes its two-game homestand on Tuesday against the Edmonton Oilers. This game is an Avalanche Cup Classic, presented by KeyBank, which will honor the 2022 Avs team that won the Stanley Cup and defeated the Oilers in the Western Conference Final. Tuesday’s game is the second of three regular-season meetings between the teams, as the Avalanche won 9-1 in Edmonton on November 8th, and they’ll play in Alberta on April 13th.

Sunday Success

The Avalanche defeated the Minnesota Wild 3-2 in a shootout on Sunday at Ball Arena. Nathan MacKinnon and Nicolas Roy both scored for Colorado while Nazem Kadri posted an assist in his second Avs debut. In net for Colorado, Scott Wedgewood stopped 32 of the 34 shots he faced. MacKinnon opened the scoring at 12:19 of the second period with his 43rd goal of the season via a right-circle one-timer set up by Kadri, who began the play with an interception below the offensive-zone goal line. Kirill Kaprizov tied the game for Minnesota with a power-play goal at 4:17 of the third period when his pass from the right circle deflected into the net. The Wild took a 2-1 lead at 7:01 of the third period when Nico Sturm scored a shorthanded breakaway. Colorado tied the game at 12:39 of the third period when Nicolas Roy scored his first goal as an Av and sixth of the season via a net-front deflection on Brett Kulak’s slap shot. In the shootout, Valeri Nichushkin scored for Colorado in the first round, Matt Boldy scored for Minnesota in the second round and MacKinnon tallied the winner in the fourth round.

Leading the Way

Nate the Great

MacKinnon leads the NHL in goals (43) while ranking second in points (104) and third in assists (61).

All Hail Cale

Among NHL defensemen, Cale Makar is tied for second in points (66) while ranking fourth in goals (19) and assists (47).

Marty Party

Martin Necas is tied for seventh in the NHL in points (76).

Series History

In 135 regular-season games against the Oilers, the Avalanche has a record of 74-49-6-6. The teams have met three times in the playoffs, with the Avs winning the 1997 Western Conference Semifinals in five games and the 2022 Western Conference Final in four contests.

Sunday in Sin City

The Oilers defeated the Vegas Golden Knights 4-2 at T-Mobile Arena on Sunday. In the second period, Trent Frederic opened the scoring for Edmonton at 3:21 before Vegas’ Noah Hanifin tied the game at 13:09. The Oilers took a 3-1 third-period lead after goals from Vasily Podkolzin at 2:34 and Leon Draisaitl at 11:53. Jack Eichel cut the Golden Knights’ deficit to one with a shorthanded goal at 16:43 of the third period. Edmonton took a 4-2 lead when Kasperi Kapanen scored an empty-net goal at 18:03 of the third period.