The next reception you attend might be catered by your favorite bar. Alcohol Catering: Bringing the Bar to You Florida’s Alcoholic Beverage Law authorizes alcohol catering by two kinds of licenseholders. An alcohol beverage catering license (13CT) is available to licensed food caterers, and allows them to sell and serve alcoholic beverages at events along with food catering (see...
Continue ReadingGames are fun and easy ways for bars and taprooms to keep customers entertained and keep them ordering. But in Florida, handling a game in the wrong way could result in civil fines or criminal charges. Don’t Call It Bingo In Florida, “bingo” has a specific statutory meaning. “Bingo” involves participants paying a sum of money for the use...
Continue ReadingThe Florida ABT’s 2012 Declaratory Statement In re BK Whopper Bar, LLC tells us how the ABT thinks about the present separation of alcoholic beverage manufacturers, distributors, and vendors. BK Whopper Bar Asked and the ABT Answered In 2011, BK Whopper Bar, LLC and Burger King Corporation asked the Florida Division of Alcoholic Beverages & Tobacco (ABT) to issue...
Continue ReadingTemporary Relief from Federal Requirements for Nonbeverage Alcohol To encourage the nation’s alcohol manufacturers to produce hand sanitizer and ethanol for use in hand sanitizer during the COVID-19 pandemic, the federal Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (the TTB) issued Public Guidance 2020-1 and 2020-1A. The TTB guidance continues through December 31, 2020. Under the TTB guidance, the...
Continue ReadingMany Florida alcohol vendors can make home deliveries, but not breweries and distilleries.
Continue ReadingFlorida breweries, wineries, and distilleries can make food and non-alcoholic beverages as well, but the rules are different. Whether its soda, juice, bottled water, or bread, a different set of requirements and opportunities exists beyond alcohol.
Continue ReadingMost of the activities provided by Florida’s alcoholic beverage industry are “essential services” under the governor’s “Safe at Home” order.
Continue ReadingForce Majeure: It’s Out of Control “Force majeure” is one of those legal terms that might be hard to explain (and spell), but you know it when you see it. The term literally means “superior force,” but it has come to mean any extraordinary event that is beyond the control of contracting parties. Force majeure events might include acts...
Continue ReadingFlorida Division of Business and Professional Regulations (DBPR) has provided the following FAQ related to Restaurants, Bars and Nightclubs for compliance with Governor DeSantis’ emergency order in response to Covid-19. Good news for breweries and wineries–and those that support them: carry-out orders are permitted. This applies to packaged products, including growlers and crowlers.
Continue ReadingThe 2020 Session of the Florida Legislature ended without passing major changes to the Florida Beverage Law, but a change to the state’s tax laws provides a excise tax credit for contributions to child-welfare charities.
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