Chuck Garrity, the owner of Death of the Fox Brewing Company.
Photo:
Courtesy of Chuck Garrity
Microbreweries get micromanaged in New Jersey, and state law bans them from serving food and says they can sell beer “only in connection with a tour of the brewery.” The good news is that the state Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control now faces a welcome challenge in court.
This summer the state’s alcohol czar began enforcing requirements it issued by guidance in 2019. Breweries can’t “collaborate or coordinate with any food vendor, including food trucks.” They can’t sell soda unless it’s made in-house. Happy hours are prohibited. Breweries can sell their own swag but can’t host “‘pop-up’ shops, bazaars or craft shows.”
Each year breweries can advertise no more than 25 trivia nights, yoga classes, “paint and sip” sessions, or other similar “special events.” If a brewery hosts a band or airs any “live-televised championship sporting event,” such as the Olympics or the Super Bowl, that automatically counts against its 25 allotted events, even if it isn’t advertised. Oh, and breweries can have “no more than two television screens,” no bigger than 65 inches “from corner to corner.”
Chuck Garrity,
the owner of Death of the Fox Brewing Company in Clarksboro, is now suing over these rules, with help from the Pacific Legal Foundation. Mr. Garrity says the limitation on advertised events has had “a huge financial impact” on his business. When his brewery hosts live music or other entertainment, patrons hang out there for hours, but without such events, “the numbers just dip.”
That seems to be the point. New Jersey caps the number of liquor licenses for bars and restaurants, and a permission slip to serve booze can sell for as much as $1 million. Breweries are regulated separately as manufacturers. Republican state Sen.
Michael Testa
says the Division of…
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