Alva C. Mather
Subscribe to Alva C. Mather's PostsAlva C. Mather focuses her practice on alcohol beverage and cannabis regulatory and commercial matters. She represents companies in the alcohol beverage industry, including brewers, distillers, wineries, importers and retailers. Additionally, she works with clients in the growing cannabis space and has in-depth knowledge of the evolving legal and regulatory issues facing this industry. Read Alva Mather's full bio.
Podcast: 2021 Legal Landscape for Brewers
By Alva C. Mather and Nichole Shustack on Feb 26, 2021
Posted In Alcohol Excise Taxes, Distribution, Transactions
Between pandemic-driven changes to shipping and home delivery privileges, the rise of e-commerce and the nebulous definition of hard seltzer for tax and regulatory purposes, there is a lot that brewers need to know to remain on the right side of the law in 2021. Alva Mather, head of the Firm’s Alcohol Regulatory & Distribution...
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Oregon Issues New Guidance on Hard Seltzer Classification
By Nichole Shustack, Alva C. Mather and Isabelle Cunningham on Jan 11, 2021
Posted In Alcohol Excise Taxes, Distribution, General Interest, Import/Export, Legislation, Trade Practices
Recently, Oregon issued clarification pertaining to the classification of hard seltzers in the state. The guidance, as summarized below, impacts the majority of hard seltzers in the market. Classification of hard seltzer has a number of impacts, most notably on excise tax (or “privilege tax”) rates and licensing needed to produce, import, distribute and sell...
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Pennsylvania Governor Calls for Cannabis Legalization and State Alcohol Tax Relief
By Alva C. Mather on Aug 31, 2020
Posted In Alcohol Excise Taxes, Cannabis, General Interest, Legislation
Pennsylvania’s governor is urging the state’s legislature to legalize recreational marijuana and pass a six-month reduction or cancellation of the state’s alcohol tax on the hospitality industry. Pennsylvania would join 11 other states and Washington, D.C., in fully legalizing marijuana, which can be lucrative for states. “It’s almost, from a legislative and a state government...
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Five Tips for Making Boozy Ice Cream That’s Legal
By Alva C. Mather and Nichole Shustack on Aug 24, 2020
Posted In Advertising and Marketing, Distribution, General Interest, Legislation, TTB COLAs and Formulas
When you think of the relationship between alcohol and food, the classics come to mind: tiramisu, coq au vin and beer cheese. While there is a long culinary tradition of using alcohol in food, the newest trend is to utilize alcohol in innovative ways in the culinary world. Recently, a popular food/alcohol combo has been in the...
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Ohio Case Will Likely Determine Whether Other States Use 21st Amendment Enforcement Act
By Alva C. Mather and Nichole Shustack on Jul 22, 2020
Posted In Distribution
As was widely reported in the alcohol trade press, the state of Ohio filed suit against several online retail outlets a week ago after an investigation into direct-to-consumer shipments of wine and spirits into the state. The suit follows an investigation where employees of the Division of Liquor Control ordered wine and spirits online through...
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Non-Alcoholic Beer Regulation 101
By Alva C. Mather and Christine Dower on Jun 25, 2020
Posted In Advertising and Marketing, Distribution, Food Safety and FDA, General Interest, Legislation, TTB COLAs and Formulas
As part of the general move to better-for-you beverages, non-alcoholic (NA) options have been and will likely continue to be on the rise. However, how NA is treated, or not treated, as “beer” has significant impact on its potential route to market. The below summarizes the overall treatment of NA beer under US federal law,...
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Detailed Summary of Federal Requirements for Production of Hand Sanitizing Products
By Alva C. Mather on Apr 1, 2020
Posted In Alcohol Excise Taxes, Food Safety and FDA, Legislation, Non-Beverage Alcohol, TTB COLAs and Formulas
To meet the growing need for hand sanitizing products, various federal agencies including the Alcohol Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB), Federal Drug Administration (FDA), Health and Human Services (HHS) and Congress have been rapidly updating and providing guidance for alcohol manufacturers interested in producing or supplying alcohol for the production of these important products....
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TTB and FDA Relax Restrictions on the Production of Hand Sanitizers by Alcohol Manufacturers
By Alva C. Mather on Mar 23, 2020
Posted In Food Safety and FDA, Non-Beverage Alcohol, TTB COLAs and Formulas
With the increasing pace of the spread of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) and the related emergent need to increase the available supply for hand sanitizer products across the United States, the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB), followed by the Federal Drug Administration (FDA), have relaxed requirements for certain alcohol producers to produce these...
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TTB Relaxes Consignment Sale Restrictions in Wake of Coronavirus Cancellations
By Alva C. Mather on Mar 16, 2020
Posted In General Interest, Trade Practices, TTB COLAs and Formulas
On Friday, March 13, 2019, in the wake of growing concerns and related mass cancellations of large events all across the United States, the federal Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) announced that it is relaxing federal restrictions on alcoholic beverage returns that might otherwise violate prohibitions associated with consignment sales.
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Florida Federal District Court Rules GRAS Regulation Preempts Florida Statute Criminalizing Ingredient
By Alva C. Mather and Christopher M. Lahiff on Mar 9, 2020
Posted In Food Safety and FDA, Legislation
In an important ruling dismissing a proposed class action, the US District Court for the Southern District of Florida ruled that the US Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA’s) generally recognized as safe (GRAS) regulation preempts a Florida statute that criminalized adding grains of paradise to liquor. More specifically, the Court in Marrache v. Bacardi USA,...
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