Microbrewing Cover on Tap At K&K Insurance Group.

To serve brew pubs, contract brewers and the 2,000 microbreweries in the United States, K&K Insurance Group offers the BrewPak program. The program enhances general-liability coverage by adding key-employee replacement expense, product-recall expense and food-borne illness. It also extends the general-liability coverage to electronically transmitted publications and Web sites.

Additional coverages such as workers compensation, general and liquor liability, mechanical breakdown, auto and inland marine can be packaged into the BrewPak program.

The inland marine coverage is a small but important aspect for brewers, said Doreen Wachenschwanz, a spokeswoman for Fort Wayne, Ind.-based K&K Insurance. The inland marine policy's trip transit covers loss or damage from the shipping of brewing kettles--which are expensive investments for breweries--from the manufacturer to the brewer.

The U.S. domestic specialty brewing industry grew 2% in 1999, selling 5.7 million barrels of beer, according to the Institute for Brewing Studies. Microbrews are popular because consumers are being more selective about what they drink and have the income for crafted beer, Wachenschwanz said.