Governor
Andrew Cuomo announced a bill to reduce restrictions for craft beverage
producers in New York, according to an article on Dan’s Papers by Kristen Fedor
available here.
Riverhead News-Review also published an article available here,
Shanken News Daily here,
and Auburn Pub here.
The
proposed legislation includes several provisions to benefit the craft beverage
industry, including an easier permit process and reformed marketing
restrictions.
The new
bill is a result of conversations from last April’s Wine,
Beer and Cider Summit.
The bill
eliminates the need for a permit to offer pint tastings or sell growlers on
site. The bill also increases the production cap for small producers, but it is
unclear by how much, according to Riverhead
News-Review.
Local
brewers are praising the bill.
“Ideally,
these end up creating less paperwork and lowering licensing fees,” said Greg
Martin, co-owner of Riverhead’s Long Ireland Beer Company. “It’s definitely
helping.”
Since
2011, New York’s number of microbreweries has increased from 40 to 100, the
number of farm distilleries has increased from 10 to 42, and the number of farm
wineries has increased from 195 to 289, according to Shanken
News Daily.
The
legislation will go into effect 30 days after it is signed into law, which is
expected to happen Thursday during the 2014 legislative session, according to Auburn
Pub.
For more information on local food systems, please visit the
National Agricultural Law Center’s website here.
