Dr. Anthony Fauci today cautioned against reopening businesses and other public gathering spaces before states meet guidelines set by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. An investigation by the California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) found that third-party delivery services are “routinely delivering alcoholic beverages to minors,” according to an industry advisory posted by the regulatory agency.

As states grapple with reopening for business in face of the COVID-19 pandemic, one Maine brewpub owner opted to defy the reopening plan Gov. Janet Mills laid out last week that orders restaurants to remain shut for on-premise dining until June.

Stone Brewing Company laid off employees of its restaurants, taprooms and distributions sales force, which amounted about 306 workers. Some state lawmakers have proposed bills that would extend business interruption insurance clauses to cover losses sustained from closures due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The beer industry has been deemed essential under guidelines from the Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), something the heads of beer trade associations worked to secure.

The state of Massachusetts, which temporarily banned on-premise dining and drinking on March 17, has taken a step toward approving to-go sales of beer and wine, something most other northeastern states have had in places since their on-premise bans began.

Ball Corporation has added production of 32 oz. crowler cans and expects to have a supply ready to hit the market in two days. The U.S. Senate unanimously passed the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, the $2 trillion stimulus package to aid the public health and economic crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Deschutes Brewery founder Gary Fish told the Bend Bulletin that the company has laid off about 60% of its staff.

In California, where more than 1,000 breweries are in operation, the state Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) has offered temporary regulatory relief for license holders such as drive-thru windows for off-premise transactions, packaged goods sold to-go from on-premise retailers and delivery to consumers.

As states enforce bans on on-premise consumption at breweries, bars and restaurants to stop the spread of the COVID-19 global pandemic, some are also loosening restrictions on takeout and delivery of alcoholic beverages.

Newly named Massachusetts Brewers Guild’s president Sam Hendler wants to finally resolve the contentious franchise reform debate with the state’s wholesalers. Hendler, a co-founder and co-owner of Framingham, Massachusetts-based craft breweries Jack’s Abby Craft Lagers and the Springdale Beer Company, acknowledged that the franchise law reform effort has been dragging on long before he was of legal drinking age. “I was a high school senior when it started,” he told Brewbound.

A bill introduced in the Michigan Legislature earlier this month would allow breweries producing up to 2,000 barrels annually to self-distribute their products in the state. Currently, Michigan breweries producing up to 1,000 barrels can self-distribute. According to national trade group the Brewers Association, the majority of Michgian’s craft breweries produced fewer than 1,400 barrels in 2018, the last year in which data was available.

East Coast gas and convenience store chain Cumberland Farms’ attempt to change Massachusetts’ off-premise retail chain licensing processes is being met with opposition from the state’s alcoholic beverage package stores.

In this week’s edition of Last Call: A New York bill would double the state’s excise tax; the Indiana cold beer sales effort will resume; U.S. cider trade group changes name; Silver Eagle distributes 1 million cases of Karbach beer in Houston; C Squared moves; and Backlash exits taproom.

Federal excise tax (FET) relief for makers of beer, wine and spirits is locked in place through the end of 2020. President Donald Trump today signed into law a tax extender package that includes the Craft Beverage Modernization and Tax Reform Act (CBMTRA), which passed both chambers of Congress this week.

Beer, wine and spirits companies are a signature away from another year of federal excise tax relief. The U.S. Senate today passed a tax extender package that includes a one-year extension of the tax relief in the Craft Beverage Modernization and Tax Reform Act (CMBTRA) that was slated to expire at the end of 2019.