Harrisburg – The Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board (PLCB) today conditionally approved 22 grants, pending full execution of grant agreements, totaling $2,178,215 for projects to enhance Pennsylvania’s beer and wine industries through promotion, marketing, research, and increased production of Pennsylvania-made malt and brewed beverages and wines.

Act 39 of 2016 created the Pennsylvania Malt and Brewed Beverages Industry Promotion Board within the department of Agriculture and authorized the PLCB to approve up to $1 million annually for development and marketing of the Pennsylvania beer industry. The Pennsylvania Fiscal Code also allows for unallocated beer grant funds to be made available in subsequent years.

The following 14 beer projects totaling $1,178,771 were recommended to the PLCB by the Pennsylvania Malt and Brewed Beverages Industry Promotion Board and subsequently approved by the PLCB for funding:

GRANT PROJECT	GRANTEE	GRANT AMOUNT
Cheers PA, Season 2: Penn Studios at PA Media Group will produce a second season of award-winning content for the Cheers PA brand, as well as produce individualized commercials for 150 PA craft breweries. This content includes Cheers PA Beer Tours, a web-series showcasing breweries, malters and nearby tourism stops across the commonwealth, and Cheers PA Beer Talks, a podcast interviewing industry leaders and innovators.	PA Media Group	$459,450
Developing Low-Alcohol Beers with Non-Saccharomyces Yeast and High-Glucose Worts: Using alterations to mashing procedures to produce worts that have glucose as the dominant sugar rather than maltose will allow for fermentation of the worts with non-maltose utilizing yeast that produce low alcohol beers.	Pennsylvania State University	$85,543
Barrel & Flow 2024: A project to build sustainable, mutually beneficial partnerships and events among Pennsylvania-based beer, wine and cider makers and black artists, performers and small business owners, which promotes, highlights and supports black talent and entrepreneurs.	Drinking Partners, LLC	$80,000
Visit Bucks County Ale Trail Marketing: Bucks County’s officially designated tourism marketing agency will create new and enhanced marketing for the 26 breweries on the Bucks County Ale Trail in 2024. New content and increased advertising, including digital billboards and digital promotions, will drive traffic and increase sales by offering new and additional reasons to visit Bucks County breweries.	Bucks County Conference & Visitor Bureau	$75,000
Generation of Desirable Polyfunctional Thiols in Hop-Forward Pennsylvania Beers with Exogenous Six Carbon Alkenes: Polyfunctional thiols are highly desirable aroma compounds that are important to the flavor quality of many modern styles of beer, and hops (the most expensive ingredient in brewing) are almost exclusively the sole source of these compounds. This project will explore novel ways for generating desirable polyfunctional thiols in beer without the traditional use of hops.	Pennsylvania State University	$69,918
Boosting Beer Flavor Through Yeast Biotransformation of Hop Aroma Precursors: Hops, a key brewing ingredient, contain extremely potent aroma active compounds called polyfunctional thiols that are highly desirable because they contribute pleasant flavors to beer. This project will explore how yeast can be used during dry hopping as a strategy for increasing the concentrations of desirable polyfunctional thiols in beer.	Pennsylvania State University	$67,551
Beer Analysis Lab: Point Park University is expanding the measurement capabilities of its beer analysis lab service by adding industry-standard instrumentation in areas including dissolved gas detection and percent alcohol by volume. This adds to existing beer-spoilage detection capabilities and provides area craft brewers easy and cost-effective access to third-party testing that can help ensure product quality and labeling accuracy without making large investments in equipment and space, simultaneously providing opportunities for undergraduate students to gain meaningful laboratory experience.	Point Park University	$65,349
Montco Makers Passport: The Valley Forge Tourism & Convention Board will launch a year-long, multimedia campaign to drive visits to Montgomery County breweries. Usage of the Montco Makers Passport will grow and promote the malt and brewed beverage industry in Montgomery County and integrate brewers into the larger tourism economy.	Valley Forge Tourism & Convention Board	$60,000
The Pennsylvania Greater Alleghenies Ridge and Valley Fermentation Trails: The Pennsylvania Greater Alleghenies Ridge and Valley Fermentation Trails will promote the breweries, wineries and distilleries of Armstrong, Bedford, Blair, Cambria, Fulton, Huntingdon, Indiana, Juniata, and Mifflin counties to increase tourism, vibrancy and revenue.	Altoona Blair County Development Corporation	$52,500
Pittsburgh Brewery Guide: Creation of an interactive digital version of the popular printed Pittsburgh Brewery Guide, which rewards beer lovers for visiting Allegheny County breweries. Project will also offer training programs for Pittsburgh Brewers Guild members and support periodic traveling beer markets that feature local breweries.	Pittsburgh Brewers Guild	$49,500
Brew Barons Beer Trail Marketing: Visit Hershey & Harrisburg will introduce the Brew Barons Beer Trail and free mobile passport to a broader regional audience by expanding its digital, social, and search marketing campaign into Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington, D.C. With more than 30 craft breweries within 20 minutes of Hershey and Harrisburg, the Hershey/Harrisburg Region is in position to be recognized as a premiere craft beer tour and tasting destination.	Visit Hershey & Harrisburg	$45,000
Alcoholic Beverage Analysis Lab: With the purchase of a 15-gallon pilot brewing system, a 15-gallon fermenter, and a UV-Vis spectrophotometer, Saint Francis University will train students and serve the local brewing community with equipment and expertise.	Saint Francis University	$31,460
Establishing a Set of Online Brewing Certificates: Saint Francis University is launching an online brewing micro-credential and starting an online certificate program to train entry level brewhouse workers.	Saint Francis University	$27,500
Lancaster County Ale Trail and Passport: Through direct marketing of its ale trail and expanded social media advertising and website development, the Lancaster County Brewers Guild aims to increase revenue for its members in 2024 and establish a network of brewers and industry peers.	Lancaster County Brewers Guild	$10,000

 

Act 39 of 2016 also expanded the Pennsylvania Wine Marketing and Research Board and authorized the PLCB to approve up to $1 million annually for wine research and promotion.

 

The eight wine projects totaling $999,444, summarized below, were recommended by the Pennsylvania Wine Marketing and Research Board and subsequently approved for funding by the PLCB:

 

GRANT PROJECT	GRANTEE	GRANT AMOUNT
Regional Marketing Strategy for Pennsylvania Wines: Promoting and marketing to wine enthusiasts, through various marketing strategies, to create positive impressions and educate consumers about the diversity of the PA wine industry.	Pennsylvania Winery Association	$544,489
Evaluating bird deterrent measures in a vineyard setting: Bird depredation of grapes is a widespread and recurrent problem in vineyards across Pennsylvania and can lead to significant crop losses. This project will optimize the use of an alternative bird deterrent product by assessing its efficacy in protecting grapes from bird damage and understanding if and how its applications affect grape and wine chemistry.	Pennsylvania State University	$86,321
Sensory Analysis of Exogenous Acetaldehyde Mediated Tannin Elongation in Red Wine: During wine aging, the mouthfeel softens and changes due in part to reactions with acetaldehyde. This work will build on previous success directly enhancing this process, and evaluate the sensory impacts of acetaldehyde mediated accelerated aging.	Pennsylvania State University	$77,932
Evaluation of grapevine nutrient levels and development of grapevine nutrient sufficiency ranges in Pennsylvania: The aim of this project is to develop a better understanding of grapevine nutrient concentration ranges in leaf blades and petioles across Pennsylvania vineyards.	Pennsylvania State University	$77,849
Investigating Novel Approaches for Remediating Hydrogen Sulfide Formation in Pennsylvania Wines: Hydrogen sulfide is a common technical fault that imparts a rotten egg character to wines and is exceedingly difficult to fully remove. This project will explore how a simple, inexpensive, food-grade additive prepared from grape leaves can be used to remediate hydrogen sulfide issues in Pennsylvania wines.	Pennsylvania State University	$69,558
Understanding Vine Deacclimation to Mitigate Spring Frost Damage across Pennsylvania: Frost damage is a recurrent economic issue limiting the amount of grapes produced in the eastern US. This project will help growers predict loss of cold hardiness and the timing of budbreak for grape cultivars widely grown across Pennsylvania and provide them with tools to reduce the risk of spring frost damage.	Pennsylvania State University	$60,246
Testing the Effect of Trichoderma to Control Powdery Mildew and Promote Vine Health in Pennsylvania Wine Grapes: Mildew pathogens cause severe damage on wine grapes in Pennsylvania and there is an urgent need to research how biopesticides in combination with fungicides can suppress disease in susceptible varietals.	Pennsylvania State University	$55,069
Increasing Purchases of Pennsylvania Wine – A Mixed Methods Investigation and Experiment of the Millennial and Generation Z Consumer: A research team at East Stroudsburg University will investigate Millennial and Generation Z wine drinkers to understand how Pennsylvania wineries can attract and retain those customers.	East Stroudsburg University	$27,980

 

The PLCB regulates the distribution of beverage alcohol in Pennsylvania, operates about 600 wine and spirits stores statewide, and licenses 20,000 alcohol producers, retailers, and handlers. The PLCB also works to reduce and prevent dangerous and underage drinking through partnerships with schools, community groups, and licensees. Taxes and store profits – totaling nearly $20.3 billion since the agency’s inception – are returned to Pennsylvania’s General Fund, which finances Pennsylvania’s schools, health and human services programs, law enforcement, and public safety initiatives, among other important public services. The PLCB also provides financial support for the Pennsylvania State Police Bureau of Liquor Control Enforcement, the Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs, other state agencies, and local municipalities across the state. For more information about the PLCB, visit lcb.pa.gov.