New Jersey Governor Vetoes Progressive Brewery Taproom Bill

It’s hard enough for craft breweries to survive given today’s economic climate. But the rules regulating taprooms in New Jersey may be the worst in the county.

The “Garden State” has long suffered under the most convoluted beer and brewery restrictions overseen by the state’s Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control.

Want a snack with your fresh taproom beer? That’s not happening, because craft beer taprooms in New Jersey aren’t allowed to have kitchens let alone offer beverage alternatives like coffee or coke.

Even the size of televisions at brewery taprooms is regulated. Breweries are allowed two and they’d better not be larger than 65 inches or taprooms risk being shut down.

Taproom events are also limited in New Jersey. Musical appearances, open mic or trivia nights, things like that, breweries can’t put on more than 25 annually, or breweries might get a visit from THE ABC MAN.

The roots of these overbearing regulations can be traced back to 2012 legislation, that looked to clearly differentiate craft beer taprooms from bars and taprooms that pay considerably more for their liquor licenses. Brewer manufacturer licenses can run around $1,250 to $7,500 annually. Restaurants and bars might have to pay $500,000 or more to serve beer in New Jersey

The Philadelphia Inquirer is reporting that “a bipartisan group of state legislators is sponsoring bills to loosen restrictions. Sen. Michael Testa (R., Cape May County) called the ‘disastrous’ regulations.”

That legislation which did away with the sharp limits on the number of events craft breweries can hold each year and barred them from serving all food passed in late June. But the bill has sat on Gov. Phil Murphy’s desk since lawmakers sent it there with unanimous votes.

And now in an act of utter stupidity, Murphy, has conditionally vetoed that bill “in hopes that legislators will support a version of the bill that eases the state’s liquor license limits as well.

“We were trying to kind of get rid of this issue and take it away entirely by getting a bill to the governor’s desk, but here we still are,” Eric Orlando, executive director of the Brewers Guild of New Jersey, told the New Jersy Monitor.

Craft breweries have already begun looking at event and vendor bookings for 2024, Orlando explained, but have been hamstrung by an uncertain political landscape.

“It’s just this level of uncertainty and unpredictability,” Orlando added. “Since the beginning of the summer, about a brewery a month close or signal they intend to close. Part of the reasoning is they can’t deal with a business climate and a regulatory environment that changes every six months.”

Craft beer makes a $1.8 billion economic impact to New Jersey every year, providing a livelihood for every business owner and employee involved.

Each day that these rules persist, New Jersey breweries are stripped of their ability to compete in the marketplace and the opportunity to create and innovate in their industry.

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(All image credits: Brewers Guild of New Jersey)