"If some brewers or wholesalers believe that the current structure does not create a barrier at 60,000 barrels then why, after almost 30 years of craft brewing are there only 43 brewers over 60,000 barrels?" asks Dan Kopman. He went on to point out that that the industry is partly shaped by the tax structure: When the tax on brewers went from $9 to $18 in the 1990s, A-B and MillerCoors were forced to not only to raise prices but also get more efficient by expanding breweries.