Sen. Schumer Likes His New York Brew – And Wants You To Do the Same

Booze is recession-proof: people drink alcohol in good economic times and they drink alcohol in bad economic times, athough the price of what they imbibe may decrease in tough times.

According to Fox, “a recent Gallup poll shows alcohol consumption hit a 25-year high in 2010, with 67 percent of Americans reporting drinking alcoholic beverages.” That is pretty close to the all-time alcohol-consumption high of 71 percent set back in the ‘70s, the site notes.

New York Senator Charles Schumer, an outspoken Democrat, is trying to use this fact to help his state’s business grow. While New York state is the official body behind the famed "I Love NY" campaign (not New York City, as commonly believed), Schumer feels it isn't doing enough for local businesses. That's why he's encouraging restaurants, bars, and retailers to stock as much New York-brewed beer as possible, according to the Saratogian. Frank Sinatra and Liza Minnellli may love New York but Schumer loves New York brew.

As he kicks off his campaign this week, Schumer is hoping that New York brewers will sell more product and thus have to add to their employee rolls, the Saratogian reports.

“Local breweries across the state are proven job creators, helping support 60,000 New York jobs and brewing not simply great beer, but billions for our local economy, too,” Schumer stated. Craft beer currently holds 7.5 percent of the market in New York, state Brewers Association President David Katleski told the Saratogian.

To help things along, “Schumer is asking the New York State Restaurant Association to encourage its member restaurants to offer locally brewed beer on their menus” as well as “pushing the New York City members of the Restaurant Association to consider offering beers brewed across Upstate New York and Long Island.”

If that weren’t enough, Schumer, a Brooklyn resident, contacted the National Association of Convenience Stores and Fuel Retailing to ask that its New York members carry New York brews.

From the sound of it, brewers across New York State are likely lifting a glass or two to Schumer this week.