Water and sewers. They're rather important for a brewery.

Last week, Cutters Brewing Company closed.

R.I.P., Cutters Brewing Company.

 ... The death of a brewery is a death in the family. Best of luck to the Cutters crew; I hope there'll be positions for you at Indianapolis breweries.

Subsequently, it emerged that sewers may have been at the bottom of it.

Cutters Brewing Company closes, owes $77K in sewage fees by Bennett Haeberle (WISH-TV)

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Cutters Brewing Company, which announced online Tuesday that it would cease operations immediately, owes more than $77,000 in sewage fees, I-Team 8 has confirmed.

Cutters, based in Avon, never sought to establish its own sewer line and instead relied upon a neighboring business for water and sewer services, according to Tom Bruns with Aqua Indiana, which serves the Hendricks County Regional Sewer District ...

There are two sides to every story, of course, but there's also a coincidence to this one.

Cranley: Halt brewery crackdown, by Sharon Coolidge and Shauna Steigerwald (Cincinnati.com)

During the last month, the Metropolitan Sewer District started charging breweries extra for their wastewater disposal, but a brewer outcry prompted Cincinnati City Manager Harry Black late Thursday to temporarily suspend the new surcharges program – though there won't be relief for breweries or businesses already inspected for the surcharge.

"We've heard from brewery owners," Black said. "I share their concerns that we do this the right way, not just right away. We'll work together in coming weeks to strike the right balance between enforcing regulations and encouraging business development and job growth."

Water and wastewater. As I've learned these past few years while delving into local political matters, they are topics of vital importance to municipalities. The city of New Albany has been debating sewers and sewage treatment for most of my adult life, and with renewed vigor during the past two decades, following an EPA death sentence.

It just might be a good idea to start budgeting now. My hunch is these matters won't be getting any easier for breweries any time soon.