9:00PM “Curfew” Announced for Some Maine Businesses During Thanksgiving Week
Starting tomorrow, Friday, November 19, certain Maine businesses will be required to close their doors at 9:00PM each day, through Sunday, December 6. With increasing numbers of positive COVID-19 cases and holiday gatherings expected throughout the state, the Mills Administration announces this and other public and safety measures in...
Bars and Tasting Rooms in Maine Remain Closed Until Further Notice as Number of COVID-19 Cases Increase
COVID-19 cases are on the rise both in Maine and across the nation. In a previous blog post , we shared that bars were set to open in Maine today, Monday, November 2. Unfortunately, due to the significant increases in the number of positive COVID-19 cases, over the weekend...
When the Weather Outside Gets Frightful: Moving Indoors in COVID-19
As the sun fades on another Maine summer and autumn rushes by, the appeal of outdoor seating at tasting rooms, bars, and restaurants starts to fade like our fall colors. Yes, there are space heaters and those fancy tables with fire pits in the middle of them, but all...
What You Need to Know Before Opening Your Outdoor Tasting Room
As part of Maine’s phased reopening of its economy, breweries, distilleries, and wineries without restaurant licenses were deemed bars. As a result, in guidance issued by Maine’s Bureau of Alcoholic Beverages and Lottery Operations (BABLO) on May 14, 2020, breweries were prohibited from opening their tasting room until July...
Hand Sanitizer Relief for Distilled Spirits Extension
On May 18, 2020, the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau issued Public Guidance TTB G 2020-4 regarding the Tax-Free Withdrawal of Distilled Spirits and Products Containing Distilled Spirits for Hand Sanitizer Purposes under the CARES Act and TTB Guidance . Through this Guidance, the TTB addressed tax...
BABLO Issues Guidance on Reopening
On May 14, 2020, the Bureau of Alcoholic Beverages and Lottery Operations (BABLO) issued a memorandum providing guidance for which licensees will be considered a “restaurant” and which will be considered a “bar” under the Stay Safer at Home Executive Order. We highly recommend reading the entire memorandum to...
Distilled Spirits Permittees: What You Need to Know About Producing Hand Sanitizer
The COVID-19 pandemic has brought with it a great deal of uncertainty for businesses and people around the world. Many have been scrambling to find supplies, from toilet paper to hand sanitizer, and additional retail locations are temporarily closing their doors each day. Recognizing that hand sanitizer is crucial...
Join Us at The 2019 New England Craft Brew Summit
Join us this Friday, March 1, at the 2019 New England Craft Brew Summit at the Holiday Inn By the Bay in Portland, Maine. The premier regional, craft beer industry business-to-business conference will be jam-packed with seminars on a variety of topics geared towards business operations, technical brewing and...
Times Are Changing: Verrill Dana Hosts Full-Day Conference, 2019 Annual Employment Law Update
After a year full of changes for employers paired with a new governor in Maine, Verrill Dana will reflect on recent legal developments in labor and employment law and what the new year might bring during its 2019 Annual Employment Law Update. The full-day conference will take place on...
Government Shutdown Impacts Breweries
Planning to brew something that needs a formula approval or a COLA approval? Have a new facility in the works? If so, you might want to reconfigure your schedule because the government shutdown has caused the TTB to suspend many of its functions . While you can still access...
The TTB is Watching – Beverage Community Asked to Self-Report Violations
As the TTB enters a more user-friendly phase with its updated online registration portal, it is important to remember that it remains an enforcement arm of the federal government for the beverage alcohol community. In a somewhat ominous circular, the TTB requested that "each industry member review its promotional...
Changing Policies and Practices? Don’t Just Question if it’s Legal, Question the PR Consequences
Over the past few days, while many were preparing turkeys or throwing out lettuce, the Boston Globe posted Trouble is brewing at craft beer darling Trillium. The article is accessible here , and another article by Paste on the same subject is here , but the long and the...
Dilly! Dilly! Is Giving Away Free Beer so Silly?
Every beer drinking football fan in Cleveland knows by now that there will be magic beer fridges stationed throughout Cleveland that will miraculously open to produce bottles of free Bud Light if the football gods see fit to allow the Browns to win a football game this year. At...
Cause Marketing For Craft Brewers (You Can Do Good, But Don't Let Your Promotion Go Bad)
"Buy our beer and we'll donate $1 to charity." The ultimate "doing well by doing good." Many large beer brands see the marketing advantage of asking consumers to buy their product in return for the brand's donation to charity. For example, since 2011, Corona has donated a portion of...
Take That Down: Recent Lawsuit on Negative Reviews
"Beer: The cause and solution to all of life's problems." Mr. Homer J. Simpson would love the recent case of a Massachusetts craft beer company that has been trying in federal court to get the employment website Glassdoor to turn the taps off and take down negative reviews about...
A Guy Unexpectedly Walks into a TSA Bag Inspection: Don’t Let TSA Snag your Swag and Other Promotions Gone Awry
With the increasing popularity of beer tourism and the statistics on brand loyalty (or lack thereof) among craft beer lovers, breweries may be looking for ways to promote their brand and keep their brewery's name on the lips of consumers. Some have started loyalty programs , while others find...
(PODCAST) Tap Tips for Entity Formation and Taxation
In this episode of Verrill Voices: Lawyers on Tap, Verrill Dana attorneys Jennifer Green and Jonathan Dunitz discuss the importance of entity formation to the overall success of a brewery business, and the differences between forming an entity using widely available online resources versus doing so with the assistance...
Lawyers on Tap in Nashville
Next week, on April 30, thousands from the craft brewing community will take over America's Music City for the Craft Brewers Conference and BrewExpo America , presented by the Brewers Association. Joining them at this year's conference are Verrill Dana Lawyers on Tap, Tawny Alvarez and Jonathan Dunitz...
TTB Expands Allowable Changes to Labels without Resubmission, but Reminds us that One Label "Does Not (Necessarily) Fit All"
Certificate of Label Approval (or COLA) can be one of the more frustrating processes for brewers. Each label must be approved by the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB). Once the COLA is issued, only certain, limited changes can be made to the label without resubmitting it...
Opening Day Edition: Beer Advertising and Sports
Today (March 29) is baseball's opening day and beer and baseball are in the news. The New York Yankees appear to be in trouble for their new " Pinstripe Pilsner " which has an image of your favorite Yankee player in the foam. But those of you wanting to...
A Different Kind of Bud: Cannabis in the Alcoholic Beverage Industry
Last week, on March 22, 2018, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Alcoholic Beverages Control Commission issued an Advisory on cannabis in alcoholic beverages. Here is a copy of the Cannabis in Alcohol Advisory . While retail sales of cannabis are expected to be lawful under Massachusetts law (while still an...
Are We Saying Goodbye to the Beer Babe?
The #MeToo movement has produced constant headlines and has helped positively change corporate culture. Is it possible for its breadth to include beer ads? Sexist beer ads have traditionally been the norm. Give a scantily clad gal a beer bottle, have her hold it to the camera, give a...
Trump’s Tax Plan WILL Affect You – But How?
On December 22, 2017, in one of the fastest-moving pieces of legislation to come across a President's desk, President Trump signed into law a bill generally known as the " Tax Cuts and Jobs Act ." The Act will undoubtedly affect most individuals and businesses beginning with the 2018...
America’s Craft Beer Community Springs into Nashville
This spring, the craft brewing community will take over America's Music City for the Craft Brewers Conference and BrewExpo America® , presented by the Brewers Association, from April 30 to May 3. Joining them at this year's conference is Verrill Dana's own Jonathan Dunitz who will co-present, "From 1...
It’s Only “Natural:” Avoiding the Risk of Consumer Lawsuits Over Food Labels
Americans are increasingly sensitive to the ingredients that go into the food that we eat. Recently, Congress passed a law requiring manufacturers to label or place QR codes on products containing or made from genetically modified organisms ("GMOs"). Now, consumer advocates have turned their attention to food products bearing...
A Guy Walks Into a Bar...
In an article for Craft Brewing Business , Lawyers on Tap attorney Jonathan Dunitz discusses how an improperly cleaned tap line can lead to not only serious lifelong health problems for the beer drinker, but also a significant verdict against the establishment who served the beer and its vendor...
Arctic Opportunities: Exploring New Passages for Business Growth in the Arctic & North Atlantic
Changes in the shipping routes have placed Maine businesses on the doorstep of the Arctic and Northern Europe. Thanks to the addition of Eimskip, it now costs less to ship a container to Norway than it does to truck it to Maryland. On Thursday, October 19, 2017 from 9:00...
Lawyers on Tap: Risk Management Podcast Series
In a special three-part miniseries for the Verrill Voices podcast, attorney Jonathan Dunitz discusses risk management for breweries and brewpubs with a successful brewery owner, a leading insurance agent in the craft beverage industry, and an experienced corporate attorney. The podcast series takes owners of new and growing breweries...
Social Media is an (age) gated community
Few brewers would dream of serving someone in their brewery or tasting room without checking an ID to ensure that all the craft beer lovers in the room are of legal drinking age. When it comes to their virtual breweries and tasting rooms, however, there appears to be a...
Out of the (Maine Beer) Box: Standing Out in a Global Marketplace
After traveling to Iceland with more than a dozen of Maine's brewers to greet the Maine Beer Box at the Bjorfestival in Reykijavik, Verrill Dana Attorney Tawny Alvarez reflected on the importance of standing out in a global marketplace in an article for the Craft Brand & Marketing Magazine...
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