One of the greatest challenges to opening or expanding an alcoholic manufacturing plant–whether brewery, winery, or distillery–is complying with local zoning ordinances. While many Florida communities have enacted specific craft beverage ordinances, most have not. As a result, getting that all-important zoning approval for a new or amended alcohol manufacturing or retail license can pose a time and cost...
Continue ReadingFlorida’s Three Tier System is a source of constant frustration for most of Florida’s alcoholic beverage and manufacturers. Brewers, distilleries, and (most) wineries are prohibited from distributing their own products to retail vendors. Florida breweries and distilleries are prohibited from selling their products to online customers. Florida distilleries can have gift shops, but they are prohibited from selling beverages...
Continue ReadingE-commerce allows entrepreneurs to build direct-to-consumer (DtC) retail businesses and manage them from anywhere. Whether selling snow skis or water skis (or both), geography is no obstacle for a good retail website and strong brands. When it comes to the heavily regulated alcoholic beverage industry, however, it’s not so simple (see How to Build a Direct-to-Consumer Florida Beverage Company)....
Continue ReadingThe TTB’s Alcohol FAQs is required reading for alcoholic beverage manufacturers, distributors, and retailers.
Continue ReadingManufacturing beer, wine, and distilled spirits involves a surprising amount of paperwork. From monthly production reports to fictitious name renewals every 5 years, there’s a lot of deadlines to keep track of. We’ve created an information sheet to help. Filing Deadlines for Florida Beverage Manufacturers is a simple chart of the deadlines of the most common production reports, tax...
Continue ReadingAlcoholic beverage caterers can be great business partners for Florida breweries, wineries and distilleries. As well as supplying beer and wine for catered events, manufacturers can host catered events in their retail and manufacturing spaces, provided they follow the right regulatory steps.
Continue ReadingBeverage manufacturers–breweries, distilleries, and wineries–are ideally suited to bring valuable investment to rundown neighborhoods and distressed communities. These are the exact areas targeted by the Opportunity Zone tax incentives created by the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. Some new and existing beverage manufacturers might benefit from locating in “O-Zones.”
Continue ReadingFlorida’s new Hemp Law became effective July 1, 2019, and with it “hemp” beer (and other products) is now legal in Florida. However, federal and state regulations still limit use of hemp in alcoholic beverages.
Continue ReadingFrom a regulatory standpoint, making beer and wine (including cider or any other fruit-derived alcoholic beverage) is possible, but it requires a couple of extra steps especially if the same equipment or premises will be used in production of both beer and wine.
Continue ReadingThere are only so many hoppy, reserve, barrel-aged names to go around. This means that more and more otherwise happy, brotherly-loving brewers, vintners and distillers are taking aim at each other over company names and product names that may or may not be infringing on one another. Before deciding your next beer MUST be named Brewers’Law Lager, or whatever,...
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