Parsippany Area Brewery Supports Fight Against Governor With New IPA

PARSIPPANY, NJ — Breweries across New Jersey have been banding together to fight New Jersey rules for brewery licenses, which have resulted in tight restrictions on New Jersey's craft breweries.

Autodidact Beer, a brewery and taproom in Morris Plains, has teamed up with Lakewood-based Icarus Brewing and the Brewers Guild of New Jersey to serve an India Pale Ale-turned collaborative project to draw attention to bipartisan measure S3038.

The new beer, Brew Jersey: Sign the Bill Phil!, will be served at 14 breweries across New Jersey as of Aug. 18, officials said.

The tagline on the New Jersey-brewed pale ale is intended for Gov. Phil Murphy as a years-long battle over liquor licensing reform continues.

The Brewers Guild of New Jersey has been pressing for legislative changes after the state's Alcoholic Beverage Control Board issued a special ruling that put significant restrictions on the number of events a brewery can host, along with other restrictions.

S3038, which was passed on by the state legislature this summer, would address the restrictions imposed by the Alcoholic Beverage Control Board that took effect in 2022. But Murphy has yet to sign the bill.

"It’s been almost 2 months since Senate Bill S3038 landed on Governor Murphy’s desk, and he has chosen not to take action. People all over New Jersey have voiced their ceaseless support, and the New Jersey Senate passed the bill with a not only bipartisan but unanimous 77-0 vote. NJ Craft Brewery regulations need an immediate change," the guild said.

The cans of Brew Jersey: Sign The Bill Phil include a QR code that consumers can scan to get more information and support reform efforts.

Breweries participating in the project are asked to donate 25 percent of the proceeds from their version of Brew Jersey: Sign The Bill Phil to the Brewers Guild of New Jersey to support the efforts to change the restrictions on New Jersey’s limited brewery licensing rules.

The restrictions were spelled out in a special ruling issued in May 2019 by the state Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control, however, enforcement of the ruling was delayed.

The special ruling limits establishments to 25 on-site events and 52 private parties per year. Each company may attend up to 12 off-site events. Breweries could hold an unlimited number of events prior to the ruling.

Breweries must also provide walking or virtual tours of their facilities before allowing patrons to drink any beer, and they can no longer collaborate with food trucks or vendors or serve coffee.

Autodidact Beer is located at 1745 NJ-10 Suite 6, in Morris Plains, and is open from 12 to 9 p.m. on Wednesdays, 12 to 8 p.m. on Thursdays, 12 to 10 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays, and 12 to 8 p.m. on Sundays.