Date: August 6, 2019
Last month, the Atlanta City Council voted to extend alcohol service hours until 2:30 on Sunday, September 1st . Under this ordinance, any establishment that is licensed to sell alcohol for consumption on the premises will be allowed to serve alcohol from 12:01 am – 2:30 am on Monday September 2. So this upcoming Labor Day, stay out late and have a cold one.
Cheers!
If you would like to read the whole ordinance, click here.
Date: 6/26/2019
In the last opinion announced today, Justice Alito proclaimed Tennessee’s 2 year residency requirement for alcohol licenses to be unconstitutional. This change could mean a lot of things, but only time will tell how states and communities will respond. The 7-2 opinion was joined by Justices Roberts, Ginsburg, Breyer, Sotomayor, Kagan, and Kavanaugh with Justices Gorsuch and Thomas dissenting. Be on the look out for a more in-depth analysis in the coming days, but for now let’s celebrate a little loosening of the sometimes baffling restrictions.
In the latest Big Beer “corntroversy”, MillerCoors has decided to sue Anheuser-Busch. This comes after AB made ads accusing MillerCoors of using corn syrup in its products.
“”It is the first beer style based around Instagram culture and based around social media.”
Garrett Oliver’s words weren’t the first shots fired at the “fad” of New England IPA, when he uttered them in November 2017, but they were, perhaps, the most important.”
The above words start Bryan Roth’s article tackling the state of beer in the Social Media Age. Throughout the article, Roth touches on every platform, from Untappd to Twitter, and all the pros and cons which come with presence on the all consuming platforms.
It’s always good when Atlanta craft beer gets recognition. Stephanie Grant does a tremendous job profiling some of the women who work tirelessly to make Atlanta’s beer community better everyday.
Source: craftbeer.com
Date: Jan. 16, 2019
Source: Creative Loafing
By: Alex Patton
Since its launch in 2015, Kennesaw’s Dry County Brewing Company has proved itself a leading innovator in Cobb County’s burgeoning craft beer community. The brewery built its name on local word of mouth, and introduced more than a few plucky college students to their first taste of approachable and reliable craft beer. But in 2019, Dr County is making a bold run to become Georgia’s first “brewstillery,” with the introduction of its own line of house-made spirits and liquors.
For now, Dry County is acquiring spirits in bulk from local distilleries like Lazy Guy Distillery, a little over a mile away from the brewery, and then barrel-aging them further to add desired flavors and characteristics. Bourbon, gin, rum, and vodka cocktails are available on draft at the bar, along with Dry County’s usual roster of beer. The brewery is also producing its own sodas, bitters, and other mixers, and is fully licensed to distill spirits in-house once they acquire the proper equipment. When that happens, co-owner Trey Sinclair hopes to develop a symbiotic relationship between the brewery’s house-made spirits and beer, bourbon-barrel aging future brew projects with Dry County’s own bourbon. “We’re running the gamut just as much if not more than anyone else in the state, and we want to appeal to people inside and outside the Atlanta perimeter,” Sinclair says. “We always have at least 12 distinct beers on tap, and now we have four or more spirits on tap as well. The most important thing to us is that we keep all of our products clean, consistent, and true to style.”
Dry County is conveniently located right down the street from Kennesaw State University, making the taproom a popular watering hole for students and faculty alike. Sinclair even briefly taught a beer-related course in the Culinary Sustainability and Hospitality department. Culinary and biology students often visit Dry County to study the science of brewing, which Sinclair says has provided valuable insight into nuances that can improve the brewery’s experimentation and output. “We’re doing styles that a lot of people are getting into but we’re doing them true to form, not chasing crazy trends and adjuncts,” Sinclair says. “Most beer drinkers, even most brewers, don’t only drink beer. We also like liquor and cocktails, and experimenting with new things, so we want to incorporate all of that into our taproom experience too.”
Dry County’s first commercial spirit release is ready-made Old Fashioned cocktail, aged in a lightly charred barrel with house-made Orange Cardamom bitters and sweetened with raw sugar syrup. It’s available to drink at the brewery along with a flight of other house-made cocktails.
Dry County is throwing an official release party for its spirit line this Saturday, Jan. 19, from 2 p.m.- midnight. Admission is free, and bottles of Dry County Spirits Old Fashioned can be reserved on CraftCellr now for $25. There’s plenty in the works for the future of Dry County this year, including in-house spirit distilling, coffee and cold brew, and plenty of new beer styles and regular releases.
100 years after it was enacted, the 21st Amendment is getting analyzed. The amendment, which ended Prohibition in the United States, gives the power back to the individual states to regulate alcohol matters. Now, in the age of the internet, the Supreme Court is considering how far a state can go.
Today, the Court heard argument in the case of Tennessee Wine and Spirits Retailer’s Association v. Blair. The case boils down to the constitutionality of residency requirements, in other words, to what extent can the state force alcohol licensees to be residents of their states. Here, Tennessee has a residency requirement of 2 years before a new license can be issued, followed by a 10 year residency requirement in order to renew said license. Essentially, the State of Tennessee forces alcohol licensees to be residents for at least 9 years before they can attempt to create a long lasting alcohol business.
As only the second case in the last 15 years to touch upon State’s rights under the 21st Amendment, Tennessee Retailer’s Association has the opportunity to completely change how the alcohol industry does business. With a lowered barrier to entry, there will be an opportunity for more diverse business and new business models to consider. However, after listening to the argument and the Court’s questioning of both parties, the opinion will likely not be overly expansive. There seems to be concern that reducing the residency requirement to nothing, or binding the state too much, will create an uncontrollable market, namely an immense alcohol market on the internet shipping across the country, or as one Justice called it the “Amazon of Alcohol.”
It will be interesting to hear how the Court comes down on this issue and we will update this blog with the opinion when it is made available.
But in the meantime, check out the following to learn more:
- A link to the Oral Argument from oyez.org
- An in-depth look at the parties, principles, and policy of this case from alcohollawreview.com
- Analysis of the argument and Justice’s reactions from SCOTUSblog.com
Source: Brewers Association
Date: Dec. 10, 2018
By: Bart Watson
In 2018, Breweries have been growing and growing, with some estimates being as high as 7,000 brewers in the U.S. Even with so many new Brewers, there is still a lot of space to grow, especially in Georgia.
Source: AJC
Date: Nov. 06, 2018
Following the recent referendums throughout Georgia, the Brunch Bill has seemingly passed through most of Metro Atlanta. This bill allows for on-premises licenses, including restaurants and brewery taprooms, to begin serving alcohol at 11 A.M. as opposed to 12:30 P.M. as previously required. All you Georgia brewery and restaurant operators should note, however, that the passage is on a jurisdiction by jurisdiction basis, which means just because Atlanta passes doesn’t mean all of Georgia falls under this allowance.
For a list of the passing Metro Counties, as well as more information about the bill, read the full article here.
Next Friday, November 2nd, the Georgia Craft Brewers Guild is hosting the Southeastern Craft Brewers Startup Symposium. The event will take place 10-4 and feature talks regarding all aspects of starting a craft brewery. Registration is $55 for guild members and $110 for non-members.
The firm will have lawyers speaking on the following topics:
Taylor Harper:
- 10 AM Georgia Regulation and Licensing,
- 11 AM Federal Regulation and Licensing
Chase Scott
- 1 PM Trademarks, Servicemarks, and IP Issues
David Lumsden:
- 2 PM Options for Corporate Structure and Financing
Lisa Harper:
- 3 PM Employment Law for Breweries
This event is also in partnership with the Master Brewers Association, which will be hosting the Southeast Technical Seminars on Nov. 3. Members can get tickets to both for $55/each, with non-members at $110/each.
To register follow this link
We hope to see you there! Cheers!
Georgia Craft Beer Lawyer 