Category: Legislative & Regulatory
News relating to the state and federal politics of beer and regulatory structure
News Jumbo beer seller sues over (Ass) trademark
The creator of Huge Ass Beers is suing another string of bars and clubs on Bourbon Street for marketing a rival draft pour as Giant Ass Beer, The New Orleans Advocate reported Thursday. Huge Ass Beers is the trademarked name for plus-sized draft beers sold at a trio of related businesses on the famously rambunctious New Orleans street.
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News It’s Back! CBMTRA Seeks Permanent Tax Relief
The Craft Beverage Modernization and Tax Reform Act (CBMTRA) has been reintroduced in the U.S. House of Representatives. The legislation would make permanent the tax and other provisions passed as part of the Tax Cut and Jobs Act which was signed into law in the closing days of 2017 on a temporary, two-year basis. If the current legislation fails, brewers will revert back to the excise tax levels prior to 2018.
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News Craft Brewery Sues US Gov. over shutdown losses.
A craft brewery in Washington D.C. is unable to sell a tank filled with newly-brewed beer thanks to the US federal shutdown, so its founders are suing the government. THIS CRAFT BREWERY IS SUING THE US GOVERNMENT OVER THE SHUTDOWN, HERE’S WHY
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News Trump to Support Ending Federal Ban on Cannabis?
The L.A. Times has reported that President Trump would support a congressional effort to remove the federal government’s ban on cannabis. Ending enforcement against cannabis by the Justice Department would likely stimulate a dramatic increase in the cannabis industry, and could remove the TTB’s ban on CBD oils, hemp and potentially even THC in beer.
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News TTB Posts Results of Label Non-Compliance Survey
One of the roles of the TTB’s is to ensure that alcohol beverages in the marketplace are properly labeled and do not mislead consumers. The TTB maintains an “Alcohol Beverage Sampling Program” (ABSP) which is a random survey of products in the marketplace to evaluate the success of the TTB label approval process and to check for non-compliant products which are in the market without receiving a “Compliance of Label Approval” (COLA) from the TTB.
Each year the TTB conducts an ABSP by purchasing products from the marketplace and do a label assessments to determine if each product is in compliance with TTB labeling regulations. Following the label assessment, each product goes to the TTB laboratory to undergo a series of analyses to determine compliance with certain information displayed on the product labels (primarily alcohol content).
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News Hard Fought Branch Bill Passes in KY
A Kentucky bill that will prevent breweries from holding distribution and retail licenses has passed the state legislature and the Governor has said in a statement yesterday that he will sign the bill. The bill has been closely watched by the beer industry as a potential “sign of the times.”
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News TTB Launches Online New Tutorial
The TTB has created a new online tutorial to help make using Permits Online a quicker and easier process. Permits Online is a free, secure electronic system that allows brewers to apply for the permits, notification, or notices needed to start any TTB regulated business, or amend your existing approvals.
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News The ABC’s of Marijuana and Beer
The annual National Conference for State Liquor Administrators was held last week in San Antonio, TX. This conference is attended by state alcohol beverage regulatory agencies and other liquor control departments along with many trade associations and stakeholders in the industry.
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News FDA Backs Down on Spent Grain Rule
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is backing down from their proposed rule regarding the disposal of spent grain that ignited a huge response from brewers and triggered a ton of ink in the mainstream press. The FDA has indicated to numerous members of Congress that they will adjust the final proposal to take into account concerns from the brewing industry.
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News Michigan considers 16-ounce ‘pint-size’ law
A bill introduced last week would amend the Michigan Liquor Control Act to require each pint of beer have at least 16 ounces. It would make it an offense to “advertise or sell any glass of beer as a pint in this state unless that glass contains at least 16 ounces of beer.”
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News TTB Issues ‘Serving’ Facts Guidelines
The Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) has issued a ruling that allows beverage alcohol marketers to include “serving facts” statement on their products’ labels, similar to those used on food and non-alcoholic beverage products. Including the serving facts is optional, but if included on the label must meet certain guidelines set forth by the TTB.
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News Brewers Meet with Key Legislators
As American Craft Beer week drew to a close, Senate Democrats met with over a dozen small brewery owners to discuss unique challenges facing the craft brewing industry. Sen. Mark Begich (AK), chair of the Democratic Steering and Outreach Committee (DSOC), hosted the roundtable
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News Maryland Craft Bill Dies
Posted by Tom McCormick
A bill in the Maryland state legislature to lift restrictions on the amount of beer a craft brewery can sell direct to the consumer died in committee, killing the hopes of craft brewers in the state, at least for now.
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