Another potential problem caused by the government shutdown: a backlog of beer.

That's what led Washington D.C. brewery Atlas Brew Works to file a lawsuit against the federal government this week, saying the shutdown is preventing it from shipping new beers.

On Dec. 20, Atlas Brew Works applied for a new keg label for a beer called The Precious One, an apricot-infused IPA, set to be available in February. It had already received a label approval for the beer in cans.

But because of the shutdown, the Treasury Department's Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau has not been issuing new labels. Stuck in the backlog: five labels from Atlas, including for The Precious One.

More:Government shutdown: How it impacts what you eat from food safety to beer

If Atlas cannot get an approved label, making it legal to ship the beer to Maryland, Virginia and Tennessee, the brewery could lose $15,000 and see its “continued existence” threatened, because the lack of new approved labels “effectively shuts down further production of new beers and the rebranding of existing beers,” the brewery wrote in its complaint filed Tuesday in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.

In the complaint, Atlas charged being prevented from getting new labels is an infringement on its freedom of speech. And even though the government may shut down, the First Amendment never “shuts down," the brewery said.

Because the government is not issuing new labels, Atlas cannot legally comply with the law, it says. However, "the right to free speech is not a favor that the government affords Americans when political circumstances allow," the complaint said.

Atlas Brew Works is seeking an injunction to prevent acting U.S. Attorney General Matthew Whitaker from enforcing labeling laws against the brewery.

The government is expected to file a response Friday. A hearing on the case is scheduled Tuesday.

Follow USA TODAY reporter Mike Snider on Twitter: @MikeSnider.

