Airport delays and littered parks are the inevitable result of a nearly month long federal government shutdown. Michiganders will muddle through.

But when the standoff in Washington threatens the very existence of summer ale in the town known as Beer City, well, now we’ve got ourselves a situation.

Those are the real-life consequences playing out in the situation room of the Founders Brewing Company in Grand Rapids.

“We had a meeting two days ago about our contingency plan. If we do not see the federal government open by February fourth for our label that's coming out this summer, we are going to miss that opportunity,” Founders’ CEO and co-Founder Mike Stevens told Bridge.

From beer crazed Grand Rapids down through the Kalamazoo and Battle Creek areas ‒ hallowed geography toasted as the Ale Trail ‒ breweries, and those who hope to open them, are stewing through bureaucratic delays prompted by the government shutdown. Expansions are on hold. Labels aren’t being approved. And businesses aren’t opening.

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All because an obscure outpost of the U.S. Treasury, the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (or TTB), has been shuttered by the shutdown. TTB is the federal office that approves brewery licenses and labels for craft beers.

For celebrated, established companies like Founders delays are a headache. For smaller businesses, including start-ups, their very existence may be imperiled.