Aloha everyone. As per my custom, below is an unedited paper written by Tracy Dudick (a rockstar evening student at McGeorge) during my last Craft Beer Law class. This paper examines the sometimes complex relationship between craft beer and legal cannabis. While there are some similar studies out there, Ms. Dudick provides some great insights and ideas. See below
Craft…
It’s a really tough time to be an independent craft brewery. Despite headlines saying that alcohol sales are skyrocketing, and while that is true, small craft breweries have essentially seen two out of three of their main sources of income cut down to nothing. More specifically, small breweries have almost complete losses in taproom sales and distributed sales. According to…
Only the strong will survive this. A new brewery or one that has not found financial stability is in deep trouble of huge losses and most likely closure due to COVID-19. It’s just a fact. Despite pleas and community energy from passionate craft-beer folks, the reality is that to-go orders, gift cards, and merch sales alone probably will not be…
This could be really bad for independent craft beer. Most states have tied-house laws that prevent manufacturers from giving retailers a “thing of value.” Among the many prohibitions this encompasses, manufacturers are (were?) universally prohibited from paying a retailer for advertising space. Several exceptions exist, but the general purpose is to prevent a retailer from becoming beholden to a manufacturer…
When Tom McCormick, Executive Director of the California Craft Brewers Association, comes to speak to my Craft Beer Law class here at McGeorge, one thing he always tells my students is that there is a shortage of attorneys conversant with craft beer law and the industry in California. Well, three craft beer law attorneys just teamed up to form a…
For those of you who read this blog, you might be wondering where the heck I have been? Am I alive? My friends, don’t try to write a book. I say that in jest, of course, but I have been working on the world’s first craft beer law textbook (under contract with Carolina Academic Press) over the summer and over…
You know how you get sick after being confined in crowded areas like airplanes or New York City? It appears the same can be true for some companies when markets get crowded. I will say for the record that the independent craft breweries and industry folks that I know, almost universally, are good, community-oriented people who genuinely want to make…
Hi again. Please excuse my absence—it’s been a bit busy on the teaching side.
When things “go legal,” it is difficult to discuss a concept without a precise definition (see “causation,” “reckless,” “negligence,” etc.). The term “craft beer” is no exception. When I say craft beer, I might mean something totally different than when you say it—it’s a personal experiential…
