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At Strike & Techel, we don’t just write legal briefs. Check out our blog about the ins and outs of alcohol beverage law.

Imbiblog is published for general informational purposes only and is not intended as legal advice.

Category archives for “ABC law”

What Can I Do With the Type 85 ABC License?

April 20th, 2012

We’ve been getting lots of inquiries about the privileges and limitations of the new limited off-sale license offered by the ABC. Though we’ve already commented on the basics of the permit here, we’re following up with answers to the clarification questions we’ve been getting:

Where can I find the privileges for the new off-sale wine license?

Read the ABC Advisory and the enabling statute CAL. BUS. & PROF. CODE §23393.5.

Can I sell tequila and beer with the Type 85?

No, the privilege is limited to wine.

Can I get the Type 85 license if I have an upper-tier California license?

No. The Type 85 is a retail-tier license, and there are no special exceptions permitting it to be held with an upper-tier license. On the flip side, you can get it if you are an employee of an on-sale retailer. This is a key distinction between the Type 85 and the Type 17/20 combination that remains popular in California.

Can I deliver product stored out-of-state directly to consumers in California with the Type 85?

No. You must have possession and title to the wine in California. It must be delivered to the consumer from your licensed premises in California or the premises of a licensed public warehouse (Type 14 License).

Can I deliver wine to consumers outside of California with the Type 85?

Yes, but only to about 13 states. 2/3 of those states require additional licensing. You can’t reach New York, Texas, Illinois or Florida.

Do I have to have a location to obtain the Type 85?

Yes. You have to choose an address where the license will be active and your records will be kept. It may not be open to the public. You will have to post notice at the premises and mail notice to nearby neighbors.

Who can I buy wine from with the Type 85?

Licensed California wholesalers and wineries. Not retailers.

How do I apply for the Type 85?

If you are interested in obtaining the license, you need to fill out the forms for an original retail license (e.g. ABC 211-SIG, 217, 208-A/B, 253, 257, 255, 247, 251, 140, entity forms). You can obtain them from the ABC website, or can hire an attorney or licensing specialist to complete them and assist you with the process. The filing fee is $342 ($100 application fee plus $242 annual fee).

San Francisco ABC Office Temporarily Moving in January

January 3rd, 2012

The San Francisco ABC office will be moving to Oakland this month to allow for remodeling efforts at the San Francisco office. The current San Francisco office, located at 71 Stevenson St. will be closed beginning at 5 p.m. on Friday, January 20, 2012. They will re-open at their temporary Oakland location on Monday, January 23, 2012. The temporary office contact information is:

Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control

1515 Clay Street, Suite 2208

Oakland, CA 94612

(510) 622-4970

Be sure to update your records and plan accordingly if you need to contact the San Francisco ABC office. It is anticipated that the office will move back into San Francisco in March 2012, but construction delays may extend the moving date. We will keep you posted as new information arises.

California Grocers Association Challenges ABC Advisory on New Self-Checkout Ban

December 29th, 2011

On January 1, 2012, California Business and Professions Code Section 23394.7 goes into effect, which aims to regulate alcohol sales at self-checkout terminals. The controversial law provides that “no privileges under an off-sale license shall be exercised by the licensee at any customer-operated checkout stand located on the licensee’s physical premises.” The law has been opposed since its inception by grocery stores with self-checkout and has been supported by retail clerks labor unions, among other entities.

The California Alcoholic Beverage Control issued an Industry Advisory to explain the new law last week, and the California Grocers Association (“CGA”) just filed a petition contesting the terms of the Advisory. For example, the Industry Advisory provides in part, “it is clear that ‘customer-operated checkout stand’ means a checkout stand or station that is designated for operation by the customer.” In its petition in the California Third District Court of Appeal, the CGA argues that the ABC overstepped its regulatory authority by defining one of the law’s key provisions in the Advisory, rather than going through the formal rule-making process required by the California Administrative Procedure Act. The CGA also argues that the definition put forth by the ABC is inconsistent with the statute. The CGA has asked that the Advisory be set aside, or that its effect at least be delayed until the issue has been resolved. Check back for updates!

Win Fabulous Cash and Prizes!!!**

September 30th, 2011

** Unless you live in California

Alcoholic beverage companies often sponsor sweepstakes and contests with prizes ranging from elaborate vacations to concert tickets to spa days. Do you know who can enter these contests and sweepstakes? Anyone in the U.S except a Californian.

California is the only state to specifically prohibit alcoholic beverage companies from sponsoring sweepstakes and contests with exciting prizes. Seriously, the only one. Adding insult to injury, companies that do not sell alcoholic beverages are welcome to offer contests and sweepstakes to Californians.

No More Alcopops in California

August 3rd, 2011

On Monday Governor Jerry Brown signed Senate Bill 39 banning the production, importation, and sale of beer to which caffeine as a separate ingredient has been directly added. Senator Alex Padilla, a Democrat from the San Fernando Valley, introduced the Bill last December. In order to enforce the prohibition, licensees may be required by the California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control to provide product formulas. All formulas provided will be considered confidential trade secrets and not subject to disclosure under the California Public Records Act. The new law can be found in Section 25622 of California’s Business and Professions Code. The law does not prohibit beers where caffeine is a part of the brewing process itself, such as a coffee porter. It is aimed instead at the Progressive Adult Beverages (PABs) (also commonly referred to as Ready to Drinks (RTDs) and Flavored Alcoholic Beverages (FABs)) that have been in the news since last fall. See our prior coverage here, here, here, and here. This puts California in line with states like New York, Massachusetts, Washington, Michigan, Kansas, and Utah, which have also banned such beverages.

Spirits Tastings Approved In Tennessee

June 27th, 2011

Earlier this month, Tennessee became the 35th state to allow spirits tastings, with the passage of Senate Bill 1224, which will permit restaurants, bars, and liquor stores to offer limited alcohol sampling. The bill, which was signed into law on June 10thand is codified at Tennessee Code Annotated Section 57-3-404(h)(2), will allow spirits retailers to conduct tastings for “sales, education, and promotional purposes.” Similar to tasting laws in most other states, spirits wholesalers may not take part in the events, and are specifically precluded from directly or indirectly providing any “products, funding, labor, support or reimbursements to a retailer.” The Tennessee Alcoholic Beverage Commission will be establishing rules specifying how tastings must be conducted.

Tennessee is among a growing list of states that have authorized limited tastings since 2009, joining California, Maine, Michigan, New Jersey, Vermont, Virginia, and Washington.

SF ABC Stops Accepting Walk-in Applications

April 5th, 2011

The SF office of the California Alcoholic Beverage Control informed us today that they are no longer accepting walk-in applications. This means that you must call the SF ABC to make a filing appointment and then mail-in your application. Be sure to plan ahead for the additional time this may take.

TTB Considers New Grape Varieties for American Wines

February 10th, 2011

Only a grape variety name approved by the TTB may be used as a varietal “type” designation for American wine. The TTB is considering adding more than 50 names to their list of approved varietals to catch up with the explosion of U.S. wines made from obscure grape varietals. The full list of varietals up for public comments is here.

Some of the proposed varietals are not so obscure (e.g. Blaufränkisch, Carignan, Garnacha, Grenache blanc, Grüner Veltliner, Lagrein, Vermentino), but others are extremely unusual, particularly the submissions from the Minnesota Grape Growers (Louise Swenson, Sabrevois, St. Pepin), which highlighted the cold-weather resiliency of the grapes

California ABC Stakeholder Meeting

February 8th, 2011

Last week, partners Barry Strike and Kristen Techel attended the California ABC’s annual Stakeholder Meeting in Sacramento. The meeting covered everything from furlough status and budget to planned action items for 2011 and 2012. Stakeholder working groups were established to further investigate and provide recommendations to the new ABC Director, Jacob Appelsmith. The four groups will cover issues related to Third Party Providers, Brands and Trademarks and other Things of Value, Licensing Process and Industry Training, and Public Convenience or Necessity.

Interestingly, during the meeting Matt Botting, General Counsel to the ABC, indicated they had not seen many applications for the new tasting permit for off-sale retailers, which we originally discussed here and here. If you’re interested in learning more about or applying for the new instructional tasting license, please feel free to contact any of the attorneys here at Strike & Techel.

IMBIBE+BLOG

May 30th, 2010

Welcome to IMBIBLOG, the blog of Strike & Techel. We are attorneys specializing in the laws and regulations governing alcoholic beverages, also known as liquor law or alcohol law. Liquor law is a specialized area of legal practice. Compared to other areas of legal specialization, there are relatively few lawyers specializing in alcoholic beverage law. If you are considering starting a business related to alcohol, you will benefit from working with a competent liquor lawyer.

The team at Strike & Techel is experienced and can serve as your TTB lawyer, ABC lawyer, beer lawyer, wine lawyer or distilled spirits lawyer. We are familiar with TTB law as well as state ABC law in California and across the country. Preparing and applying for the necessary alcohol beverage licenses is a big part of the alcohol beverage practice and Strike & Techel is highly experienced with ABC license applications and TTB license applications.

We are based in San Francisco and are particularly familiar with the alcohol laws and regulations of our city. The attorneys at our firm practice alcoholic beverage law exclusively. This blog is our place to tell you about current issues of interest for those in the business of making, promoting, and selling alcoholic beverages.

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Category archives for “ABC law”