The Craft Beverage Modernization Act (CBMA) is a provision in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 that lowered taxes on all beverage alcohol producers, big and small, foreign and domestic. In 2020, the tax cuts became permanent. Effective as of January 1, 2023, the Treasury Department–particularly, the federal Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB)–is in...
Continue ReadingMONTHLY HIGHLIGHTS The Data: The Florida Breweries Report reflects data published by the Florida ABT, which is available online here. The ABT monthly publishes the taxpaid sales for each brewery and distributor. Unfortunately, the ABT does not publish breweries’ sales to distributors. This means that the Florida Breweries Report reflects only breweries’ taxpaid sales, which are generally made in its taproom....
Continue ReadingYou first opened your brewery taproom, winery tasting room, or craft distillery bar several weeks ago, and everything is going well. A good crowd is enjoying your products and the environment, enhanced by a perfectly curated playlist of just the right chill pop hits. That’s when you open a letter from a company called BMI, ASCAP or SESAC. This...
Continue ReadingHappy New Year! The beginning of the year is a great time for alcoholic beverage industry members–manufacturers, wholesalers, and retailers–to review the events of the prior and confirm that they have taken care of regulatory compliance. In addition to periodic reporting required at the federal and state levels, changes to ownership, management, or premises triggers the requirement to update...
Continue ReadingMONTHLY HIGHLIGHTS The Data: The Florida Breweries Report reflects data published by the Florida ABT, which is available online here. The ABT monthly publishes the taxpaid sales for each brewery and distributor. Unfortunately, the ABT does not publish breweries’ sales to distributors. This means that the Florida Breweries Report reflects only breweries’ taxpaid sales, which are generally made in its taproom....
Continue ReadingRather than launching a new Florida alcoholic beverage manufacturer, it might be better to buy an existing operation. The Buyer gets a built-out premises, with all the equipment and buildout already in place, and a built-in customer base. The Seller gets to move onto other things. Business transfer transaction are always complicated, and even more so in a heavily...
Continue ReadingLaws and regulations that govern the production and sale of alcoholic beverage products can seem very strict. This is true for the most part. However, there are circumstances when variances from the rules–either permanent or temporary–are authorized. The key to any variance from federal or state alcoholic beverage regulations is the same: a request for variance must be made...
Continue ReadingMONTHLY HIGHLIGHTS The Data: The Florida Breweries Report reflects data published by the Florida ABT, which is available online here. The ABT monthly publishes the taxpaid sales for each brewery and distributor. Unfortunately, the ABT does not publish breweries’ sales to distributors. This means that the Florida Breweries Report reflects only breweries’ taxpaid sales, which are generally made in its taproom....
Continue ReadingBrewdog Brewing Asked About a Flaw in the Florida Beer Franchise Law In 2020, Brewdog Brewing Company LLC (“Brewdog”) asked the Florida Division of Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco (ABT) what the word “successor” means as used in the Florida Beer Franchise Law, Florida Statutes Section 563.022(16). At stake was whether would be bound to the distribution agreements that had...
Continue ReadingNothing. Despite the popularity of pop-up bars and restaurants, Florida does not have special laws and regulations that are specifically aimed at these short-term hospitality concepts. That’s a problem for pop-up organizers. The primary attributes of pop-ups are their limited durations (sometimes as short as one event) and their uncommon locations (abandoned businesses, building rooftops, airplane hangars, etc.). But...
Continue Reading