Legislative, Government Affairs & Legal Updates

The New Jersey Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) issued a revised special ruling earlier this week aimed at limiting the number of annual events breweries can host in their taprooms. Under the ruling issued Tuesday, the ABC said the state’s craft breweries can hold up to 25 “special events,” 25 “social affairs,” and 52 “private parties” annually inside their taprooms. Additionally, breweries are now allowed to sell their beer at 12 events a year outside of their taprooms.

Following a federal judge’s ruling Friday evening, Anheuser-Busch InBev will be required to pull some Bud Light advertisements that suggest MillerCoors’ flagship light lagers, Miller Lite and Coors Light, contain corn syrup. Western District of Wisconsin Judge William Conley granted MillerCoors a “narrow in scope” preliminary injunction, blocking A-B from displaying billboards that say Bud Light contains “100% less corn syrup” than its rival’s lagers, as well as broadcasting a pair of television ads that he deemed “misleading.” The judge also denied A-B’s motion to dismiss the case.

In this week’s edition of Last Call: There Colorado breweries are set to close; Sierra Nevada asks breweries to honor their Camp Fire pledges; U.S. beer shipments decline in April; Boston Beer delays its downtown Boston taproom opening; and more news.

Texas craft brewers’ efforts to legalize beer-to-go sales is closer to passage than ever before. On Wednesday, Texas Senators unanimously passed sweeping legislation to maintain operations of the state’s alcohol regulatory body, the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission (TABC), along with several changes to the state’s alcoholic beverage code, including an amendment that would permit a majority of the state’s manufacturing breweries to sell their offerings for off-premise consumption.

After 12 years of debating North Carolina’s self-distribution and franchise laws, brewers and wholesalers are one step away from their compromise being written into law. On Monday, the North Carolina Senate voted 38-3 to approve the Craft Beer Distribution and Modernization Act (House Bill 363), which the House approved in mid-April. The legislation now advances to Gov. Roy Cooper.

The U.S. beer industry was responsible for creating more than 2.19 million jobs that paid more than $101 billion in wages and benefits in 2018, according to a joint study released today by industry trade organizations the Beer Institute (BI) and the National Beer Wholesalers Association (NBWA).

Nearly a year after imposing aluminum and steel tariffs against Canada and Mexico, the Trump administration today officially lifted levies imposed upon the two longtime trade allies. Ending tariffs on steel and aluminum imported from Canada and Mexico marks a significant moment for the beer industry, as about 43 percent of aluminum used by U.S. beverage companies comes from Canada, according to Washington, D.C.-based trade group the Beer Institute (BI).

The Texas Craft Brewers Guild’s effort to legalize beer to-go sales inched closer to reality this week, when powerful lobbying group the Wholesale Beer Distributors of Texas (WBDT) agreed to back a measure that, if passed, would allow consumers to purchase up to a case of beer a day from the Lone Star State’s manufacturing breweries.

A majority of U.S. Senators support making permanent excise tax relief for alcohol producers and importers. The 2019 version of the Craft Beverage Modernization and Tax Reform Act (CBMTRA) added its 52nd supporter in the U.S. Senate today, with Sen. Mazie Hirono (D-HI) becoming a co-sponsor. The legislation seeks to make permanent the two years of tax breaks that alcohol producers and importers received as part of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which are slated to expire at the end of this year.

In this week’s edition of Last Call: Brewers Association CEO Bob Pease weighs in on the Boston Beer-Dogfish Head deal; Rob Tod wins a James Beard award; Bell’s and Loveland head to arbitration; the Texas Senate strips to-go-sales amendment from a bill; and more industry news.

A growing number of U.S. craft breweries are not locking in long-term hops contracts and that leaves those companies vulnerable as supply tightens, according to industry trade group the Brewers Association (BA), which surveyed 250 members to gain insight into how beer makers are managing one of the industry’s most important raw materials.

In the latest edition of Press Clips: The Boston Globe outlines the turmoil within the Craft Beer Cellar franchise; Texas beer-to-go sales amendment passes the House; Arcadia founder transfers brewery property ownership to its bank; and Anheuser-Busch responds to MillerCoors’ corn syrup lawsuit.

In this week’s Last Call: Boston Beer CEO’s 2018 compensation hits $20 Million; New Belgium opens remodeled pub at Denver airport; 7-Eleven tests upscale store; Amazon seeks alcohol policy manager; New York State Liquor Authority fines Shmaltz; and more industry news.

In this week’s Last Call: Patagonia sues Anheuser-Busch for trademark infringement; Stanford researchers find consumers more negatively view beer made by women; Maryland lawmakers pass franchise law reform and modernization bill; and more industry news.