Photo by Barry Houlehen
Lakefront Brewery entrance
The Lakefront Brewery in Milwaukee
A major overhaul of Wisconsin’s alcohol laws is on the verge of passing very soon, updating what many independent craft brewers have considered for decades to be outdated rules, and independent wineries and distilleries will benefit as well.
Alcohol Bill 304 passed the Assembly on June 21 and now is expected to pass the Senate and go to the governor’s desk. It will not only initiate sweeping changes to the state’s alcoholic beverage laws (many of which date to immediately after Prohibition), but it will also create a new Division of Alcohol Beverages under the Department of Revenue.
Will Glass, president of the Wisconsin Brewers Guild and owner of The Brewing Projekt in Eau Claire, calls the bill a great win for independent brewers. “For our members the new clarity in law for language related to contract production, fermented malt beverages, and cross tier issues is huge. Additional retail abilities will also open up new opportunities for our members to diversify their retail offerings and make breweries more competitive when it comes for hosting events.”
Major changes for brewers, wineries and distillers include making it easier to make retail sales on premise and at a certain number of off-site full-service retail outlets based on their annual production (which will still require authorization from their local municipalities). They will also be able sell other types of alcohol products, made by other companies, on-premise, such as wine and spirits at a brewery's taproom.
Brewpubs Benefit
Photo by Barry Houlehen
Bar at Ope! Brewing Co.
The bar at Ope! Brewing Co. in West Allis
Closing times for on-premise sales for both on- and off-premise consumption will be made consistent with the hours for bars (known as Class B retailers).
Brewpubs will benefit greatly from AB304, doubling their annual production from 10,000 to 20,000 barrels and their self-distribution limits from 1,000 to 2,000 barrels per year. Another major change is the elimination of requiring all production to occur on the brewpub's premises, which means that they will be able to contract with other breweries to produce beer for them.
Other changes include making it much easier for alcohol producers to provide free samples at Class A outlets (liquor stores and grocery stores) and Class B (bar and restaurant) retailers; easing restrictions producer transporting their products to distributors and retailers; cleans up restrictions on “cross tier” ownership or interest in various alcohol-related industries and businesses; creates a statewide bartenders license; and allows for alcohol producers to provide space, equipment and personnel for “guest producers.”
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There are also quite a few other updates for venues including rented facilities, campgrounds, event venues, axe-throwing venues, free alcohol events (“no-sale events” like parties and weddings), and restaurants. For example, a customer will be able to take an unfinished bottle of wine from a restaurant (with certain restrictions). The definition of "fermented malt beverage" will be changed from basically "beer" to any fermented malt beverage except sake and similar products.
Widespread Support
The bill, which evolved over years of negotiations between various industry representatives and interest groups, is enjoying widespread support, including between groups that have often been at odds in the past, such as independent craft brewers and the Tavern League of Wisconsin. Groups supporting the bill include the Wisconsin Brewers Guild, the Wisconsin Craft Beverage Coalition, the Wisconsin Grocers Association, and the Wisconsin Wine and Spirit Institute, as well as major companies Kwik Trip, Anheuser-Busch and Molson Coors.
Glass has been working on updating the laws for the last eight years. “As a member of the guild we’ve been working for the last five unified with the wineries and distilleries,” he said. “We’ve been an active party to the negotiations which have been, at times, challenging. We have such a broad scope of business models it’s hard to capture every issue, but we’ve worked as an organization to get as much good done as possible with this bill. It's not perfect … But I’ve been telling people whereas the answer to ‘Can I do XYZ’ has generally been met with ‘no’ from WDOR [Wisconsin Department of Revenue], now there is a definitive and codified path to ‘yes.’”
He also expects the bill to pass. “I do believe if the bill gets a hearing in both the Senate and Assembly that this bill will pass. It is a much-needed overhaul of critical sections of Chapter 125. It brings some common-sense solutions to some ridiculous conflicts that have existed since 2011.”
