It wasn’t until 2002 that a “continuing care retirement community” (CCRC) was permitted to obtain a license to serve alcoholic beverages to its residents on the retirement community’s premises. To be considered a CCRC under the Pennsylvania Liquor Code, the facility must house at least one hundred people over the age of sixty-two.
One interesting component of the recently enacted Craft Distillery License is that it permits license holders to certify that their products are “New Jersey Distilled.” Under the New Jersey statute authorizing the license, a craft distiller certifying that at least 51% of the raw materials used in the production of its distilled alcoholic beverages are either grown in New Jersey or purchased from providers in the State can label such beverages as “New Jersey Distilled.”
Recent changes to the New Jersey Limited Brewery License and Restricted Brewery License have made the State a more favorable environment to establish a craft brewery or brewpub.
Pennsylvania currently operates under a three-tier beer distribution system which has been in place since the end of Prohibition. The first tier is made up of brewers who are restricted to selling their beer to wholesale distributors, the second tier, who sell the products to stores, restaurants, and bars, the retailers on the third tier, who then sell the beer to the rest of us.
Choosing your business location, whether as a startup brewery, brew pub or distillery, or to relocate an existing business, is a critical determination. There are many considerations, both business and legal, that must be weighed in making this decision.
In Pennsylvania, a person or entity that wishes to sell and/or serve intoxicating beverages to its clientele is required to obtain a liquor license issued by the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board (PLCB). Once the license is issued, the licensee may sell and/or serve intoxicating beverages pursuant to the type of license it has received. Many establishments will operate under the direction of the owner/licensee through its managers and employees.
Effective December 1, 2013, the New Jersey Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control began accepting applications for a new craft distillery license for distillers located in New Jersey. This new license, which makes it easier and more cost-effective for small distillers to distill and manufacture spirits within the state, was born out of new legislation that was signed into law by Governor Christie last August.
Tax relief for breweries could be on its way thanks to two pieces of proposed legislation, The Small Brewer Reinvestment and Expanding Workforce Act (“Small BREW Act”) and The Brewers Excise and Economic Relief Act of 2013 (“BEER Act”). Under current law, brewers generally pay an $18 excise tax on each barrel brewed. Small brewers, defined as those that brew fewer than 2 million barrels of beer a year, pay a reduced excise tax of $7 per barrel for the first 60,000 barrels brewed each year.
