Government Affairs

New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy signed into law a bill that will ease strict restrictions on the way craft breweries in the state can operate their taprooms.

For the second time, New Jersey craft breweries are a signature away from having a stringent set of restrictions on their taproom operations removed.

Both houses of the state Legislature passed Senate Bill 4265 and Assembly Bill 5912, which would allow craft breweries to host “an unlimited number of on-premises special events and private parties.”

New Jersey craft brewers are reeling after Gov. Phil Murphy’s conditional veto of a unanimously passed bill that would reform the Garden State’s restrictive conditions for sales and operations at craft brewery taprooms.

The Brewers Association (BA) is urging breweries to submit any federal approval requests or applications ASAP over concerns of a government shutdown.

After its request for a conversation with Anheuser-Busch InBev (A-B) leadership last month went unanswered, the Human Right Campaign (HRC) has suspended the perfect 100 score it gave A-B on its 2022 Corporate Equality Index (CEI), which will prohibit the company from using the organization’s designation as one of the “Best Places to Work.”

More than 300 winners were honored during the Brewers Association’s (BA) 2023 World Beer Cup (WBC) during Craft Brewers Conference in Nashville this week. Guinness Baltimore Blonde – the signature offering of brewing operations at Diageo’s Relay, Maryland-based production facility – has become such a local icon that one Baltimore County official wants to invest $500,000 in a local brewer to keep the beer flowing, according to the Baltimore Banner.

Brewers Association (BA) government affairs leaders Marc Sorini and Katie Marisic laid out the state of play at the state and federal level earlier this week during the Craft Brewers Conference in Nashville.

Brewers Association (BA) general counsel Marc Sorini previewed the trade organization’s upcoming comments on modernizing trade practice regulations during the Craft Brewers Conference in Nashville on Monday.

The Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR) has filed two complaints against Blue Cloud Distributing, alleging the PepsiCo subsidiary violated statute in nine license applications for its locations across the state.

The California Craft Brewers Association (CCBA) has sponsored two bills this legislative session: one that would allow members to produce cider and perry with existing licenses, and another that would restore transparency in beer production data reporting.

Virginia retailers are now required under law to separate alcoholic versions of non-alcoholic brands from their soft drink counterparts.

The latest iteration of a bill that would hike tax rates for Oregon beverage-alcohol producers was introduced in the state House of Representatives last month. House Bill 3312 (H.B. 3312) would raise taxes on beer and cider produced in the state from $2.60 per 31-gallon barrel to $33.60 per barrel by 2028 – a 1,200% increase over half a decade.

The number of brewer’s notices issued by the U.S. Department of the Treasury Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) increased by 732 in 2022, the smallest increase since 2023, Brewers Association chief economist Bart Watson noted.

Even as A-B hopes for a rediscovery of Bud Light, the company is preparing for Michelob Ultra, its second best-selling brand, to overtake Bud Light as its best-selling brand within the next five years, Anheuser-Busch InBev U.S. CMO Benoit Garbe said.