COLORADO SPRINGS — On Saturday, President Trump issued executive orders imposing tariffs on Mexican and Canadian imports. His administration says the tariffs are a way to combat illegal drug trade across borders, but the new measure may have an impact on the price tag of some Southern Coloradan's favorite adult beverages.
Trinity Brewing Company Owner Matt Dettman said a majority of the brewery's grain comes from north of the border.
"Grain is the cornerstone."Dettman said. "It's a very new situation, maybe the first time that, as a small brewer, we might actually see some effect on this."
With a newly imposed 25% tariff on Canadian and Mexican imports, Dettman says he's not too worried yet about a change in cost because grain has a shelf life. He added since the U.S. imports so much grain, distributors will want to keep American customers buying.
"I believe at some point they're going to have no choice but to give us the prices that are required to make the buyers happy," Dettman said.
From the tap to tequila, Eagle Wine and Spirits Manager Alan Crawford said he's not sure if the tariffs imposed on Mexico will impact tequila prices. He said the bigger impact will likely be seen on supply.
"Some brands will take longer to come in if the supply is damaged," Crawford said.
Crawford said a similar situation happened in 2019, when the United States issued retaliatory tariffs on Irish Liquor products.
"They were finding that a lot of the scotches were the supply was, was not there, so we were waiting for supply to hit the store," Crawford said.
Crawford said ultimately this supply issue will hit the smallest beverage manufacturers the hardest.
"If a bottle costs the distributor here in Colorado, let's just say $5 more per bottle, and it doesn't sell as fast, they're not going to bring it back into its warehouse quickly," Crawford said. "So then when we go to reorder this, it might take a week or two before we get it back into the store."
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