New Jersey breweries are now limited to the following:
• Hosting only 25 on-site activities per year (Events such as trivia, live music, etc.)
• Host only 52 private parties per year
• Attend only 12 off premises events per year
In addition to the above, this ruling also prohibits breweries from the following:
• Selling coffee on site
• Collaborating/ coordinating with food vendors/ trucks
• Selling food or operating a restaurant
• Selling specialty cocktails using malt alcohol
• Offering a free drink to any guest
• Offer Happy Hour pricing
You can read more about it right HERE and it is not good for beer. And it just seems to be yet another instance where one industry that should be tight with beer seem to want to knock them down a peg.
Why can’t restaurants work “with” breweries? Why can’t a coffee roaster create a special beer with a brewery and sell their coffee at the taproom? How does limiting 12 off premises events help anyone? Especially charities that get funds from beer festivals.
Other beer writing voices have chimed in on this with exasperation and I expect that New Jersey will water down these rules or selectively enforce them. What may also happen is that breweries go into the restaurant business to work around some of these rules.
As a show of solidarity, I will be highlighting New Jersey breweries all next month.
