TRENTON, NJ – There’s bad news for beer lovers, hipsters, and everyone else who frequents New Jersey’s ever-expanding number of craft breweries:
Eat before you go.
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On Tuesday, the Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control (better known as the state “ABC”) issued new regulations governing the activities of craft breweries; among them is a ban on food trucks on the premises:
“The statutory requirements of New Jersey Liquor Laws limiting sales of any product for on-premises consumption to only those individuals who have toured the brewery and prohibiting the Limited Brewery from operating a restaurant and selling food (other than de minimis types of food) will be enforced immediately by the Division. However, the remaining provisions set out in the Special Ruling should be considered guidelines and will not be strictly enforced by the Division at this time, barring flagrant or repeated violations.”
Collaboration with various food vendors had been a popular brewery tradition. Annual tours are out, too, and beginning on June 3, New Jersey’s 100 craft brewers will be obligated to alert the ABC of any on-premises event at least 10 days in advance.
The new rules will allow for food deliveries to “limited” breweries, a reference to the 2012 legislative action designed to license and promote the industry, something many beer enthusiasts believe is oxymoronic.
Tuesday’s announcement is the latest in a series of very public disagreements between the growing microbrewery community and the ABC. While still draconian, the new rules represent a minor scale-down from even stricter regulations which were announced then drawn back in 2018 following an uproar.
“We believe the activities permitted under this Special Ruling strike a fair and appropriate balance between the interests of full retail license holders, such as restaurants and bars, and the craft brewing industry,” said ABC Acting Director James B.. Graziano. “Will everyone be satisfied with them? Probably not. But at the end of the day, the Division’s job is to set limits on what licensees are entitled to do under existing laws and to level the playing field so that all limited breweries can compete fairly with each other. If there is a need for or interest in adjusting or further expanding the privileges available to limited brewery licensees, that would be a matter for consideration by the Legislature.”
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