A new bill that would double self-distribution limits for brewers in Michigan is being considered by state lawmakers.

The bill, introduced Thursday in the Michigan House of Representatives, would have a big impact on the state's robust craft beer industry, especially for small craft brewers. The change in self-distribution limits is among the most significant items in a package that aims to untangle bureaucracy and ease barriers for small businesses, according to Pauline Wendzel, R-St. Joseph, who is sponsoring the bill. Her district, encompassing part of Berrien County, is home to a cluster of small craft brewers.

If passed, the new law would double the number of barrels that can be self-distributed to 2,000 yearly, and it would no longer count taproom sales as part of that number. Under current law, if a brewer exceeds 1,000 barrels distributed and consumed on site, it must sign with a licensed distribution company or cease sales. The bill was referred last week to the Committee on Regulatory Reform, where it will be reviewed before being passed to the House and Senate for consideration.

The bill gives small brewers more wiggle room for growth while placating bigger brewers and distributors by not asking for an excessive increase, said Scott Newman-Bale, partner at Bellaire-based Short's Brewing Co. and former longtime president of the Michigan Brewers Guild who still handles government affairs for the group.

"It's gonna impact the smallest brewers, especially those that are trying to get going and start their brand," Newman-Bale said.

Each state differs widely in how much it allows brewers to self-distribute, and more than a dozen disallow the practice altogether. For an idea of range, Wisconsin allows self-distribution of 300,000 barrels, while Colorado allows 10,000. Each of the Great Lakes states besides brewery-heavy Michigan has a limit of at least 10,000.

Newman-Bale said he's optimistic the bill will pass sometime in the first quarter of this year.

"With all of the stakeholders supportive, we hope for very swift movement," Jacob Rushlow, legislative director for Wendzel, said in an email.

While in the works for the past couple of years, the push to increase the limit caught steam when Detroit-based Eastern Market Brewing Co. launched an online petition to support the movement. The fast-growing craft brewer, which opened in 2017 and recently bought Axle Brewing Co. in Ferndale, has bemoaned self-distribution limits as a barrier to scaling the business.

Co-founder Dayne Bartscht had been pushing for a limit of 30,000 barrels but knew it was a moonshot to get distributors and big brewers on board with that number. He said he looks at the bill as progress in a broader push to loosen regulations.

"For us, it's huge because if we would have been up against that limit this year, we would have had to change our business model and marketing strategies," he said.

The bill faced opposition from some distributors and brewers in the state initially, but most backed down after realizing the new rules would likely have a negligible impact on their business, Newman-Bale said. Under the new law, brewers would still be required to sign with a distributor once the 2,000-barrel quota is tapped.

"Distributors don't want to deal with a hundred different brands anyway," he said. "They'd much rather move 10 times more with one brand."

The 2,000-barrel limit also poses little threat to the state's largest brewers, such as Bell's Brewery Inc. and Founders Brewing Co. Most small brewers utilize self-distribution to get their beers on tap at local bars and restaurants. Distributing more widely — to Meijer or Kroger, for example — almost always requires a deal with a licensed distributor.

The strongest opposition to the bill is coming from small brewers that have recently signed with distributors, Newman-Bale said. Had the limit been higher before, they would have had a little more runway before being forced into a distribution deal.

Even so, cutting a check to a distributor might eat into revenue, but self-distribution can be just as expensive and challenging, said Seth Rivard, co-owner of Rockford Brewing Co., near Grand Rapids. The brewery has done distribution through Livonia-based Imperial Beverage since 2012.

Rivard said he supports the legislation. His company sells around 1,000 barrels in its taproom yearly and distributes another 1,200. That would put the brewery below the proposed limit increase, but Rivard said he is on pace to exceed it this year.

"What we discovered as we grew is that there's a lot of work to self-distribute — sales, staff, people to move beer, meeting legal standards — a lot of overhead work," he said. "There's definitely an advantage to having a licensed distributor do the work for you."