The Big Apple’s craft brewers and liquor distillers are toasting a new rule hidden deep in the GOP’s tax overhaul that drastically slashes federal taxes on boutique producers of beer, spirits and hard cider.

“It’s huge,” said Jay Sykes, co-owner of Flagship Brewing in Staten Island. “For us, it cuts our tax burden in half. Merry Christmas!”

The savings will boost a booming local industry. The number of microbreweries within the five boroughs has more than tripled over the last four years, and distilleries producing small-batch whiskey and gin are also on the rise.

“So far it’s the only thing that I’m excited about with this new bill,” said Mike Santoro, 36, who hoisted a Coming in Hot Imperial IPA at Other Half Brewing Company in Gowanus, Brooklyn on Saturday. “It’s an amazing opportunity for small businesses like this one to take it to the next level.”

“If it makes beer cheaper, I feel great,” said Greg Smith, 36. “These are the people that deserve a tax break.”

The new rules give the biggest breaks to the smallest producers.

Distillers will now pay $2.70 per gallon in federal excise taxes on the first 100,000 gallons they sell — and a whopping $13.34 per gallon after that threshold.

Brewers will pay $3.50 per barrel on the first 60,000 barrels they produce each year, down from $7 a barrel currently. Brewery behemoths like Anheuser-Busch pay a tax of up to $18.00 a barrel.

Tiny Flagship Brewing “paid about $30,000 in those taxes this year,” Sykes said. “So we just saved $15,000 without having to do anything for it. That’s real money.”

Nationwide, the measure will save small brewers $142 million next year, according to the Brewers Association, a trade organization for craft breweries.

The law “will allow America’s small brewers — who are manufacturers and entrepreneurs — to reinvest in their businesses, expand their operations and hire more workers,” said Brewers Association president Bob Pease.

“For us, we’ll try to roll it into selling more, maybe get another sales rep into the market,” Sykes said. “And we’ll be able to offset some of the costs of health care for our employees.”

The tax law includes the first-ever federal recognition of mead, a liquor made with honey, classifying it as wine for tax purposes.

Raphael Lyon of Brooklyn meadery Enlightenment Wines fears the new rule could backfire on his business by extending a tax break to large vintners that had not been eligible for federal rebates.

“I think the tax bill is grand theft larceny,” Lyon said. “It’s another giveaway to big corporate entities.”



Additional reporting by Kevin ­Fasick