New Jersey Tasting Room Regs on Hold

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The state Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) issued a ruling intended to clarify certain abilities of limited brewery licensees (up to 300,000 barrels annual production) and attempted to strike a balance between the interests of full retail license holders, such as restaurants and bars, and the craft brewing industry. The ruling restricted limited breweries to holding up to 25 on-site events per year and up to 12 off-site events per year, subject to authorization by the ABC. It also limited to an annual maximum of 52 the number of private parties occurring on the premises of a limited brewery. While allowing certain snack food items to be available in a brewery tasting room, the ruling prohibits food trucks and the provision of local restaurant menus for order-in purposes. Patrons would, however, be able to bring their own food into the brewery’s tasting room. Following strong and vocal opposition from a number of brewers, consumers and legislators, enforcement of the ruling was suspended and stakeholders will reconvene for further discussions.

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