MEASURE TO HELP MAINE BREWERS MOVES FORWARD

Sen. Justin Alfond of Portland

“Win-win” for Maine’s large and small craft brewers

AUGUSTA – A measure to strengthen and grow Maine’s burgeoning craft brewing industry was unanimously passed by the state’s Veterans and Legal Affairs Committee today.

The bill, LD 102, “An Act To Strengthen the Craft Beer Industry,” increases the maximum number of brewing partners a licensed brewery can enter in to a tenant-brewery partnership from one to nine.

“The marketplace is asking for this change. The demand for Maine’s craft brewing industry is exploding–and this measure is a win-win for everyone involved,” said Senate Democratic Leader Justin Alfond of Portland, the sponsor of the bill. “Giving larger breweries the ability to fully utilize their manufacturing facilities helps small brewers and entrepreneurs take the next step toward a successful, profitable business.”

During the 126th Legislative session, Senator Alfond passed a bill (LD 1548) to legalize these “alternating brewing partnerships” that allow large breweries to share equipment and supplemental employees with a tenant-brewer while retaining the independence of the  tenant-brewer with regards to recipes, materials, quality control, packaging, shipping, record keeping, and compliance. The bill came as a result of legally aligning a tenant-brewer relationship between Peak Organic Brewing and Shipyard Brewing.

Since the passage of LD 1548 last year, Shipyard Brewing has been approached by other craft brewers seeking a similar arrangement to Peak Organics; however, under statute, Shipyard is limited to only one tenant-brewer. If passed by the full Legislature, LD 102 would remove that restriction.

During the committee’s discussion of the bill, Republican State Representative Jonathan Kinney of Limington thanked Senator Alfond for putting forth a good “economic jobs bill.”

The bill  LD 102, “An Act To Strengthen the Craft Beer Industry,” will go to the Senate for further votes in the coming weeks.

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