Owner Of Summit's Bull N Bear Brewery 'Frustrated' By New Restrictions

SUMMIT, NJ — The New Jersey Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) recently issued a series of restrictions on microbreweries throughout the state, and Bull n Bear Brewery in Summit is feeling the effects.

The new rules, which went into effect July 1, significantly limit the number events that local breweries can hold on-site. Currently, microbreweries can only hold 25 on-site events and 52 private parties per year.

This still may seem like a lot, but owner of Bull n Bear, Will Dodge, said these limits on the number of events he can hold is "extremely detrimental" to his business.

Normally, Dodge said he would host between 50 to 75 live music events at the brewery each year. The ABC's cap on 25 on-site events is now affecting the brewery financially, according to Dodge.

"I don't have money to pay my employees this week," Dodge told Patch on Wednesday. "It's almost Friday, and I don't have enough. So, I'm extremely concerned."

Dodge said the ABC's restrictions on events are "extremely vague" but "all encompassing." Trivia nights and showing post-season games — like an NHL playoff game — are all considered public events that he would have to notify the ABC of before hosting.

The state's directive explains that limited-brewery licenses, like the one Bull n Bear has, carry different privileges than those of bars or restaurants.

The ABC — part of the New Jersey Office of the Attorney General — says it "must balance the concerns of the growing limited brewery sector comprised of 100 licensees against the issues and concerns facing the bars and restaurants that collectively hold approximately 6,000 retail consumption licenses" in New Jersey.

Read more: Microbreweries In Peril Due To New NJ Restrictions, Industry Says

But Dodge said the increase of microbreweries opening in the state does not bring unfair competition to bars and restaurants.

New Jersey is ranked 46 out of 50 states for craft beer brewed per capita — meaning the state has one of the fewest number of breweries in all of America. Dodge said two counties in Pennsylvania actually have more breweries than all of the state of New Jersey.

However, New Jersey is the only state that is cracking down on microbreweries currently.

In fact, Dodge said most other states are loosening their regulations, and the taproom model has grown by about 30 to 40 percent in the U.S. over the past ten years.

"The big guys like Coors and Miller and Corona and Budweiser [have] been losing five to 10 percent market share, year after year for last 10 years," Dodge said. "So New Jersey is cracking down on the one portion of the industry that's growing in the United States right now ... even through a recession, and they're pushing it down."

Dodge said members of the ABC walked into his brewery recently and threatened his employees, claiming that they heard Bull n Bear was hosting too much live music.

"Three agents ran in like it was an FBI raid and threw all their badges on the bar and started grilling all of my employees," Dodge said. "It was pretty intense."

Dodge said it's frustrating because the brewery is complying with all of the regulations.

Although officials from the ABC are stating that microbreweries are bringing unfair competition to local bars, Dodge said he often works with the bars and restaurants in the area. He said Bull n Bear sells beer to other Summit bars, which they then sell in their restaurants.

Another new restriction is that breweries can no longer sell food on the premises, but Dodge said he is not interested in selling food anyways. He said people often pick up food from local restaurants and bring them to Bull n Bear.

Dodge added that some of his colleagues in the industry are frustrated that they cannot coordinate with food trucks because they are located "in the middle of nowhere," and it's difficult for them to collaborate with nearby restaurants.

Bull n Bear first opened in Dec. of 2020, launching at 25 percent occupancy due to COVID-19 restrictions. Dodge said he could only allow 12 people in at a time. Two years later, the brewery is still facing limitations, putting them in a sticky financial situation.

Another local brewery, Lions Roar Brewing Co. in Westfield, is also experiencing difficulties due to the new restrictions.

Read more: Westfield's Lions Roar Brewing Faces Restrictions Amid New State Rules

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