Each year U.S. brewers, importers and distributors pay over $3.6 billion in federal excise taxes and almost $1.7 billion in state excise taxes. Ultimately these expenses are passed on to consumers.
Today, over 40 percent of the cost of a bottle of beer is for taxes, including federal and state excise taxes. The last time federal beer excise taxes were raised, it was devastating to the industry. Sales declined by 4.3 million barrels and tens of thousands of Americans lost their jobs.
http://www.beerinstitute.org/br/economic-impact/beer-excise-tax-payments