Texas craft beer distributors received an early Christmas present in 2017. On December 15, 2017, the Texas Court of Appeals for the Third District, at Austin issued an opinion in Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission v. Live Oak Brewing Co., et al. (NO. 03-16-00786-CV) in which the court overturned a lower court’s determination that a statute prohibiting self-distributing brewers from selling the distribution rights to their products was unconstitutional under the Texas Constitution. (more…)
Last week, the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission (“TABC”) circulated a draft amendment of Texas’ name and address labeling regulation for “malt beverages” (beer). A copy of the proposed amended regulation (with a redline of the changes) is can be found here.
Consistent with TTB regulations on name and address labeling for malt beverages, the current regulation requires only the name and address of the importer, with foreign producer information optional. The revised regulation, in contrast, requires:
On labels of containers of imported malt beverages, the name and principal place of business of the foreign manufacturer, bottler or shipper must be stated
The proposed regulation accordingly marks a significant Texas departure from federal labeling rules. First, it requires foreign producer information on the label. Second, it requires the label to show the name and principal place of business address of the foreign producer. This could require substantial changes to the labels of malt beverages sold in Texas.
The TABC is scheduled to hold a hearing in Austin on its proposed new regulation on Friday, March 10, 2017.
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