There is an impact for the 2% annual increase. For the brewery I work at, the increase claws back all of the reduced excise I would pay earlier in the year, because excise is progressive. That 2% escalator has an impact. The impact is smaller if breweries are quite small, but as the regional craft breweries grow, the impact is a bit more profound.
Saving the 2% escalator probably wouldn't be a big enough change to the Excise Tax Act to truly help grow independent craft breweries.