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The Craft Beverage Boom

Savvy attorneys on the lookout for new representation opportunities are keeping a close eye on what’s going on in the booming craft beverage industry. States across the nation are relaxing alcohol beverage control laws and regulations, and cutting red tape, in order to encourage the development of this relatively new and explosively growing industry. In addition, state legislatures are enacting new laws to make it easier for farms and other existing businesses to ride the craft beverage bandwagon.

New York State, not traditionally known for innovative business enterprise policies, is a prime example of how states are encouraging the growth of this job-creating industry:

Since 2012, 523 new farm-based craft beverage licenses have been issued, thanks to a 2013 Farm Brewery Law, https://nysenate.gov/legislation/laws/ABC/51-A  a 2014 Farm Cidery Law, https://nysenate.gov/legislation/laws/ABC/58-C and an overhaul of the state’s Alcoholic Beverage Control laws http://ypdcrime.com/abc/ that give incentives to manufacturers that use ingredients grown in New York.

Nationwide, the number of new craft breweries has skyrocketed in recent years. Today, there are more than 6,200 craft breweries in the U.S., up from 1,700 just eight years ago. The U.S. Treasury Department’s Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau, one of the federal agencies regulating this industry, anticipates this prodigious growth to continue.

Craft breweries are regulated by multiple agencies in both the federal and state governments. The laws and regulations under which they operate vary significantly from state-to-state and require considerable and constant legal advice and counsel.

The future of craft breweries is very bright, indeed. Given the business and regulatory complexities of this business, it is a potential goldmine for attorneys.

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