New State Brewery Restrictions Challenged By Long Valley Officials

LONG VALLEY, NJ — The Washington Township Committee plans to discuss a resolution opposing the New Jersey Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control's special conditions on breweries during its committee work session on Aug. 10.

The New Jersey Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) issued new rules, which went into effect last month, that significantly limit activities on the premises of microbreweries. As a result, the establishments can only hold up to 25 on-site events and 52 private parties per year. Each business can attend up to 12 off-site events.

The regulations are part of a special ruling issued by the ABC in 2019, following a similar, harsher set of rules issued in 2018 that drew immediate criticism from industry leaders and legislators alike.

Long Valley officials plan to review and discuss a possible resolution opposing the state's new restrictions, possibly drawing inspiration from neighboring towns such as Mount Olive, which recently passed their own resolution.

According to the sample resolution, "these new conditions will force local, homegrown small businesses to rethink business models and closely consider which events they should participate in or host, which will reduce their profits and their opportunities to engage in their communities.

Cindy DeRama, the owner of Morris County-based Twin Elephant Brewing, believes that the new restrictions will harm the role of small businesses in their community

"With this special ruling from the ABC, it limits breweries to engage their communities and customers. Being limited to 25 special events includes limiting live music, charity events, local artist pop-ups, etc. Breweries become part of their local communities and support their towns and local businesses and vice versa," DeRama said.

Following an outpouring of frustration and anger from brewery owners, resolutions opposing the new restrictions have sprouted up all over the Garden State

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A majority of the resolutions proposed that the New Jersey governor and state legislature collaborate with breweries to develop fair laws to guide state regulators at the division of beverage control on how to oversee the state's craft beer industry.

According to ABC Director James Graziano, who issued the 2019 special ruling, the rules were designed "to help craft breweries promote their products and build their business while continuing to balance the concerns of other licensees and ensuring compliance with state law."

The new rules prohibit microbreweries from selling food on-site or collaborating with local food vendors. Microbreweries may provide menus from local restaurants, but they cannot have a monopoly on them.

"Breweries don't want to run like restaurants but they do want to help their customers to have access to food to prevent intoxication which is drilled into servers' heads in the training," DeRama said.

The new regulations may have an impact on local businesses like the historic Long Valley Pub and Brewery, which is housed in a stone barn dating back to the 1700s.

The ABC's new restrictions aim to distinguish microbreweries from traditional bars, limiting the full capabilities of small breweries.

The ABC set a limit of 25 special events on-site per calendar year, 52 private parties per year, and 12 special events off-site per year. When live music or DJs are brought into a brewery, the ABC considers it a special event and adds it to the total allotted amount for the year. Though breweries can broadcast special television or media events, such as the Super Bowl, advertising that the television program will be on now qualifies as a special event.

Members of the Washington Township Committee intend to discuss this issue at the Aug. 10 Work Session Meeting, which is set to begin at 7 p.m. Click here to view the full agenda, including a sample resolution.