Talbot County, on the eastern shore of Maryland, is one of only a handful of places in America that prohibits the selling or providing of alcoholic beverages on an election day during the hours when the polls are open.
The picturesque waterfront county is named for Lady Grace Talbot, the sister of Lord Baltimore and
I have just returned from a month of mountain climbing in Pakistan where alcoholic beverages are banned.
Pakistan has the world’s greatest concentration of high peaks and glaciers, with more than 160 summits of over 6,000 meters and a beauty, isolation and sheer immensity like nothing else on the planet. It was this wilderness of
The transfer of a liquor license often involves issues of life and death, and in some instances, zombies and phantoms.
A decision last year by the Maryland Court of Special Appeals in Liquor License Commissioners for Baltimore City v. Austin was instructive as to when a liquor license is really dead. The court explains
While it is difficult to comprehend what new liquor licensing laws could possibly be enacted in Maryland after the legislature passed the largest bill in Maryland history, only 2 years ago in 2016, some 3,180 pages long, re-codifying the alcoholic beverage laws, this is review of just that ..
At the close of the just concluded 438th session of the Maryland General Assembly on April 9, 2018, 1,269 Senate bills and 1,832 House bills were introduced of which 889 bills were enacted, including more than a few that will provide business opportunities for those engaging in the business of alcoholic beverages.
Among the significant issues involving alcoholic beverages are:
Comptroller’s Office
In Maryland, alcoholic beverages manufacturers and wholesalers are regulated by the Comptroller’s Office, while alcoholic beverages retailers are regulated by local boards of license commissioners. House Bill 1316 (Ch. 25) is largely seen as a rebuke to the Comptroller for his legislative activism on craft breweries when it establishes a Task Force to Study State Alcohol Regulation in the State. The 21-member task force, whose membership includes legislators, alcohol industry representatives, law enforcement representatives, and health care professionals, must examine whether the Comptroller’s Office is the most appropriate agency to ensure the safety and welfare of Maryland residents, or whether those tasks should be assigned to another State agency or to one created specifically to carry out those tasks.
Wineries
A Class 4 limited winery license, issued by the Comptroller, authorizes the sale and sampling of wine and pomace brandy produced by the license holder for consumption. Among other things, a license holder may distill and bottle up to 1,900 gallons of pomace brandy made from available Maryland agricultural products. House Bill 972 (passed) establishes stricter requirements for a business to obtain a Class 4 limited winery license. Specifically, the bill changes the broad requirement that a licensee use Maryland agricultural products to produce wine and pomace brandy to instead require the licensee to own or have under contract at least 20 acres of grapes or other fruit in cultivation in the State for use in the production of wine or ensure at least 51% of the ingredients used in alcoholic beverages production are grown in the State. The Secretary of Agriculture each year may grant a one-year exemption to an applicant from the 51% requirement. The bill will not apply until May 1, 2022, to any person who holds a Class 4 license on or before June 30, 2018.
Class 6 Limited Wine Wholesaler’s License
A holder of a Class 4 limited winery license whose winery produces no more than 27,500 gallons of its own wine annually may obtain a Class 6 limited wine wholesaler’s license. The Class 6 license allows the winery to sell and deliver its own wine produced at the licensed premises to a retailer or other person authorized to acquire the wine; however, a license holder may not sell the wine to another wholesaler. House Bill 896 (passed) increases the annual amount of wine that can be produced, sold, and delivered by the holder of a Class 4 limited winery license that also has a Class 6 limited wine wholesaler’s license from 27,500 gallons to 35,000 gallons. The bill also authorizes a Class 6 license holder to sell its wine to a holder of a wholesaler’s license.
Distilleries
There are two types of manufacturer’s license issued in the State that authorize the production of liquor. A Class 1 distillery license authorizes the establishment and operation of a plant for distilling brandy, rum, whiskey, alcohol, and neutral spirits at the location described in the license. Similarly, a Class 9 limited distillery license, which may be issued to a holder of certain Class B or D beer, wine, and liquor licenses, authorizes the license holder to distill, rectify, bottle, or sell up to 100,000 gallons of the same types of alcoholic beverages; however, the Class 9 license holder may sell at retail on the premises of the Class D or Class B license only 15,500 gallons of liquor each year. Senate Bill 384 (passed) increases the annual amount of liquor that may be sold at retail under a Class 9 limited distillery license to 31,000 gallons.
Manufacturer Off-site Permits
The Harford County Farm Fair is an annual event celebrating Harford County’s agricultural heritage and features rides, farm animals, and food, among other attractions. House Bill 270 (passed) allows the holder of a brewery off-site permit or a winery off-site permit to use the permit to sell and provide samples of beer or wine at this fair.
Retail Sales of Alcoholic Beverages – Licenses from Multiple Jurisdictions
A Class B beer, wine, and liquor license allows a restaurant, hotel, or motel to sell alcoholic beverages for consumption on- and/or off-premises, depending on the license. State law generally limits the number of alcoholic beverages licenses that may be issued to a single license holder to one; however, there are exceptions in some jurisdictions. For example, with certain specified requirements, Montgomery County authorizes a single license holder to obtain up to 10 Class B beer, wine, and liquor licenses. House Bill 1003 (passed) authorizes a single individual to hold multiple Class B beer, wine, and liquor licenses or equivalent licenses issued by different local licensing boards for restaurants, hotels, or motels. The number of licenses that a single individual may hold is only limited by the cap imposed by each local licensing board on the licenses that the board issues. The licenses may be issued for use by the license holder, a partnership, a corporation, an unincorporated association, or a limited liability company.Continue Reading Alcoholic Beverages in the 2018 Maryland General Assembly Session
Among the more curious environmental issues of the day appears to be criminalizing plastic drinking straws and stirrers.
The “war on drinking straws” must be true because this week there is a viral video viewed on YouTube more than 5.5 million times of a 2015 incident where a Texas A&M University research team in Costa
Delivery to consumers will be the biggest change to the alcoholic beverage industry in Maryland during 2018.
A tipping point is now being reached among retail license holders offering delivery to consumers. Despite that it was a change in state law in 2015 that enables delivery, it has taken some time for what is a
It is not surprising that in Maryland the determination as to whether the liquor license is owned by the individual applicants, or by a corporation that operates the business, depends on the circumstances of the particular case.
That said, Maryland law has been and continues to be that liquor licenses issued to individuals for the
The Board of Liquor License Commissioners for Baltimore County has issued new Rules and Regulations.
Liquor board Rules are of great import and govern the issuance of an alcoholic beverage license as well as the day to day operations of a business selling alcoholic beverages. While hyper technical in nature, Board Rules have the force
Enacted unanimously by the Maryland Senate and House of Delegates and approved by the Governor, a new state law establishes a nonrefillable container permit for draft beer that will create a new revenue stream for restaurants, bars and others across Maryland.
The permit authorizes the sale of draft beer for off-premises consumption by packaging the
It is difficult to comprehend what new liquor licensing laws could possibly be required in Maryland in 2017 after the legislature passed the largest bill in Maryland history last year, some 3,180 pages long, codifying alcoholic beverage laws.
But as the just concluded 437th session of the Maryland General Assembly, began in the City of Annapolis on the eleventh day of January 2017, and ending on the tenth day of April 2017, more than 2,881 bills were introduced of which more than 361 bills were enacted, including more than a few that will provide business opportunities for those engaging in the sale of alcoholic beverages. This post is a compilation of those bills.
For the past several years, craft brewers in the State have backed legislation to increase the amount of beer they may sell for on-premises consumption in their taprooms. They have been opposed by beer wholesalers and retailers, who have feared that their businesses would suffer as a result. Of the several bills on these issues, the sides reached agreement on House Bill 1283 (passed) that applies to all Class 5 breweries, which include both small craft breweries and a large Guinness brewery scheduled to open in Baltimore County. Note, the bill does not apply to pub-breweries, micro-breweries, or farm breweries.
The bill increases, from 500 barrels to 2,000 barrels, the amount of beer a Class 5 brewery may sell for on-premises consumption each year. The brewer may apply for permission to sell an additional 1,000 barrels per year, provided any beer sold in excess of the 2,000 barrels is first purchased by the brewer from a licensed wholesaler. The bill also authorizes a Class 5 brewery to contract to brew and bottle beer with and on behalf of another Class 5 brewery or holder of a Class 2 rectifying license, Class 7 micro-brewery license, Class 8 farm brewery license, or nonresident dealer’s permit. Contract beer that is sold for on-premises consumption at a Class 5 brewery may not exceed the greater of 25% of the total number of barrels of beer sold annually for on-premises consumption or 1.2% of total finished production under the Class 5 brewery license. Also, the bill alters the hours during which the sales and serving privileges of an on-site consumption permit may be exercised for specified Class 5 breweries. For license holders who obtain an on-site consumption permit after April 1, 2017, the hours of sale for on-site consumption extend from 10 a.m. until 10 p.m., Monday through Sunday. Class 5 breweries, who obtained licenses before April 1, 2017, are exempt from the bill’s stated hours of sale and will continue to operate under the longer hours established in each local jurisdiction.
Continue Reading New Alcoholic Beverage Laws from the 2017 Session of the Maryland Legislature