Sponsored by:
Senator MICHAEL L. TESTA, JR.
District 1 (Atlantic, Cape May and Cumberland)
SYNOPSIS
Makes various changes to law governing limited breweries.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning limited brewery licenses and amending R.S.33:1-10.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. R.S.33:1-10 is amended to read as follows:
33:1-10. Class A licenses shall be subdivided and classified as follows:
Plenary brewery license. 1a. The holder of this license shall be entitled, subject to rules and regulations, to brew any malt alcoholic beverages and to sell and distribute his products to wholesalers and retailers licensed in accordance with this chapter, and to sell and distribute without this State to any persons pursuant to the laws of the places of such sale and distribution, and to maintain a warehouse; provided, however, that the delivery of this product by the holder of this license to retailers licensed under this title shall be from inventory in a warehouse located in this State which is operated under a plenary brewery license. The fee for this license shall be $10,625.
Limited brewery license. 1b. The holder of this license shall be entitled, subject to rules and regulations, to brew any malt alcoholic beverages in a quantity to be expressed in said license, dependent upon the following fees and not in excess of 300,000 barrels of 31 fluid gallons capacity per year and to sell and distribute this product to wholesalers and retailers licensed in accordance with this chapter, and to sell and distribute without this State to any persons pursuant to the laws of the places of such sale and distribution, and to maintain a warehouse; provided, however, that the delivery of this product by the holder of this license to retailers licensed under this title shall be from inventory in a warehouse located in this State which is operated under a limited brewery license. The holder of this license shall be entitled to sell this product at retail to consumers on the licensed premises of the brewery for consumption on the premises, but only in connection with [a] an on-site or virtual tour of the brewery, or for consumption off the premises, in the form of a keg, sixtel, case, six-pack, growler, crowler or other container, in a quantity of not more than 15.5 fluid gallons per person, and to offer samples for sampling purposes only pursuant to an annual permit issued by the director. An on-site or virtual tour shall not be required for off-premises retail sales.
The holder of this license
shall not sell food or operate a restaurant on the licensed premises. The fee
for this license shall be graduated as follows:
to so brew not more than 50,000 barrels of 31 liquid gallons capacity per annum, $1,250;
to so brew not more than 100,000 barrels of 31 fluid gallons capacity per annum, $2,500;
to so brew not more than 200,000 barrels of 31 fluid gallons capacity per annum, $5,000;
to so brew not more than 300,000 barrels of 31 fluid gallons capacity per annum, $7,500.
The holder of this license may hold on-site special events on the licensed premises of a limited brewery that is open to the general public. The licensee also may hold off-site special events that are open to the general public. The licensee shall notify the director at least 10 days in advance of the date of an on-site special event and shall notify the director and municipality in which an off-site special event is taking place at least 21 days in advance of the date of the off-site special event. The notification shall include: the name and address of the limited brewery; the date, time, and description of the event; the estimated number of attendees; whether there will be a cover charge; the event security plan to prevent consumption of alcoholic beverages by persons under the legal age to consume alcoholic beverages; and the name, address, and other contact information for any outside vendor providing entertainment.
A cover charge imposed by the licensee to attend an on-site or off-site special event shall not include any free or discounted alcoholic beverages and an attendee shall not be required to purchase an alcoholic beverage as a condition of entry. If an outside vendor charges a fee, an attendee shall directly pay the licensee the fee to attend the event and the licensee shall pay the fee to the outside vendor.
For the purposes of this subsection[, "sampling"]:
"Crowler" means a fillable and machine-sealable beer can used to package malt alcoholic beverages for off-premises consumption commonly sold at limited and restricted breweries, which does not hold more than 32 ounces of beer.
"Growler" means a glass, ceramic, or stainless steel jug used to transport malt alcoholic beverages for off-premises consumption commonly sold at limited or restricted breweries, which does not hold more than 128 ounces of beer.
Off-site special event shall include, but not be limited to, beer, music, or arts festivals; civic events; athletic events; limited brewery anniversary celebrations; and holiday celebrations.
On-site special event includes, but is not limited to: trivia and quizzes; paint and sip craft making; live music and open microphone; live televised sporting events; educational events and seminars; movie or theatrical events; animal adoption events to the extent permitted by local ordinance; yoga and similar classes; and private parties.
"On-site tour" means any form of engagement with brewery visitors on the licensed premises that communicates information about the brewery and the brewing process and shall apply to an initial and subsequent visit to a limited brewery.
Product means any malt alcoholic beverage that is produced on the premises licensed under this subsection.
Sampling means the selling at a nominal charge or the gratuitous offering of an open container not exceeding four ounces of any malt alcoholic beverage. [For the purposes of this subsection, "product" means any malt alcoholic beverage that is produced on the premises licensed under this subsection.]
Virtual tour means the simulation of an existing location through sequential videos or still images, which may be enhanced with text, images, audio, video, or animation, to recreate a realistic representation of reality.
Restricted brewery license. 1c. The holder of this license shall be entitled, subject to rules and regulations, to brew any malt alcoholic beverages in a quantity to be expressed in such license not in excess of 10,000 barrels of 31 gallons capacity per year. Notwithstanding the provisions of R.S.33:1-26, the director shall issue a restricted brewery license only to a person or an entity which has identical ownership to an entity which holds a plenary retail consumption license issued pursuant to R.S.33:1-12, provided that such plenary retail consumption license is operated in conjunction with a restaurant regularly and principally used for the purpose of providing meals to its customers and having adequate kitchen and dining ro