New State Brewery Restrictions Opposed By Morristown Officials

MORRISTOWN, NJ — The Morristown Council plans to discuss a resolution opposing the New Jersey Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control's special conditions on breweries during its upcoming council meeting on Oct. 11.

The New Jersey Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) issued new rules last month that severely restrict activities on the premises of microbreweries. As a result, each year, the establishments can only host 25 on-site events and 52 private parties. Each company is allowed to attend up to 12 off-site events.

The regulations are part of a special ruling issued by the ABC in 2019. They follow a similar, harsher set of rules issued in 2018, which drew immediate criticism from industry leaders and legislators alike.

Morristown officials plan to review and discuss a possible resolution opposing the state's new restrictions, possibly drawing inspiration from neighboring towns such as Washington Township, which recently passed its own resolution.

According to the sample resolution, "the new conditions will force these local, homegrown small businesses to rethink business models and closely consider which events they should participate in or host, which will reduce their profits and their opportunities to engage in their communities."

Local breweries, such as Glenbrook Brewery have supported local restaurants and the broader Morristown community with support to the Morristown Fall Festival and the Morristown High School (MHS) Football Booster Club among other events, officials said.

Following an outpouring of frustration and anger from brewery owners, resolutions opposing the new restrictions have sprouted up all over the Garden State.

The majority of the resolutions proposed that the New Jersey governor and state legislature work with breweries to develop fair laws to guide state regulators at the division of beverage control in their oversight of the state's craft beer industry.

The Morristown Town Council claims that these new rules serve little purpose in the fair regulation of breweries and instead serve to limit competition in the Morristown alcohol and beverage industry, which benefits all Morristown citizens.

According to ABC Director James Graziano, who issued the 2019 special ruling, the rules were designed "to help craft breweries promote their products and build their business while continuing to balance the concerns of other licensees and ensuring compliance with state law."

The new rules also prohibit microbreweries from selling food on-site or collaborating with local food vendors. Microbreweries may provide menus from local restaurants, but they cannot have a monopoly on them.

Glenbrook Brewery in Morristown was ranked as the 95th best brewery in New Jersey on Brewery Stars' most recent list of the top breweries in the Garden State, which was published last week.

According to the ABC, the new restrictions aim to distinguish microbreweries from traditional bars, limiting the full capabilities of small breweries.

The ABC set a limit of 25 special events on-site per calendar year, 52 private parties per year, and 12 special events off-site per year. When live music or DJs are brought into a brewery, the ABC considers it a special event and adds it to the total allotted amount for the year.

Though breweries can broadcast special television or media events, such as the Super Bowl, advertising that the television program will be on now qualifies as a special event.

Members of the Morristown Council intend to discuss this issue at the Oct. 11 Council Meeting, which is set to begin at 7:30 p.m. Click here to view the full agenda, including a sample resolution.