Amendment #805 to H4200
Tenant Brewers
Representatives Ferguson of Holden and Zlotnik of Gardner move to amend the bill by adding the following five sections:
“SECTION X. Section 1 of chapter 138 of the General Laws, as most recently amended by Chapter 165 of the acts of 2014, is hereby amended by inserting after the definition of “Farmer-winery” the following definition:--
“Host brewer”, any person or entity licensed under this chapter to manufacture malt beverages who has entered into an alternating proprietorship arrangement with a tenant brewer approved by the US Department of the Treasury Alcohol and Tobacco Tax Trade Bureau for the purpose of producing or packaging beer on behalf of the tenant brewer.
SECTION XX. Section 1 of said chapter 138 is hereby further amended by adding after the definition of “Tavern” the following new definition: --
“Tenant Brewer:, a person or entity that has a brewer’s notice or other license who has entered into an alternating proprietorship arrangement with a host brewer approved by the United States Department of the Treasury Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau for the purpose of producing or packaging beer at a host brewer’s premises.
SECTION XXX. Section 18 of said chapter 138 is hereby amended by adding at the end thereof the following paragraph:--
In order to ensure the necessary control of traffic in alcoholic beverages for the preservation of the public peace and order, the shipment of such beverages into the commonwealth, except as provided in this section, section 19F and 19G, is hereby prohibited.
SECTION XXXX. Said chapter 138 is hereby amended by creating the following new section: --
Section 19G. Tenant/Host Brewer License. –
The commission may issue a tenant brewer license which authorizes the holder thereof to produce or package malt beverages on the premises of a host brewer to any individual applicant who is a resident and citizen of the commonwealth and to any corporation, partnership or other entity which complies with the requirements set forth in section 26.
To be eligible for a tenant brewer license, the applicant must have a brewer's notice approved by the United States Department of the Treasury Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau and must have an approved alternating proprietorship arrangement that allows the applicant to use the facilities, equipment, and employees of a host brewer.
A tenant brewer may import such raw materials as are required solely for the production and packaging of the malt beverage, including without limitation bulk malt beverage produced by the tenant brewer at its brewery of origin. The bulk malt beverage imported by the tenant brewer must be packaged and shipped back to the tenant brewer’s brewery of origin or to another licensed premises designated by the tenant brewer within 10 days of receipt by the host brewer.
Any product produced or packaged at the host brewer’s premises must be removed from the host brewer’s premises within 10 days after the brewing or packaging process is completed. The finished product must be returned to the tenant brewer’s brewery of origin or to another licensed premises designated by the tenant brewer.
The Commission may require a tenant brewer to maintain a record or log indicating which equipment is being used at any time by the tenant brewer in the production or packaging of malt beverages and which employees are working on production or packaging of the tenant brewer's product. A tenant brewer is subject to the same reporting requirements as the host brewer.
A tenant brewer’s license issued pursuant to this section 19G does not grant the holder thereof any right to sell its product in the commonwealth to any person or entity except a Section 18 license holder. A tenant brewer’s license only permits the tenant brewer to produce or package malt beverages as specifically set forth in this Section 19G.
For the purposes of this section, a package means kegs, casks, barrels, bottles, cans and all other packages approved by the United States Department of the Treasury Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau for malt beverages. A brewery of origin means any brewery at which the tenant brewer’s is duly licensed to manufacture of malt beverages other than at the host brewer’s premises.”
Section XXXXX. The annual license fee for each tenant brewer shall be computed based on the malt beverage barrelage produced by the tenant brewer as follows:
5,000 barrels or less per year: $1,000 per year
More than 5,000 but less than 60,000 barrels
per year: $2,000 per year
60,000 barrels or more per year: $3,000 per year
For the above stated purposes, a barrel shall be 31 gallons."