2005 Maine Code - §1355 — Manufacturer licenses

      1. Issuance of licenses. The bureau may issue manufacturer licenses to distill, rectify, brew or bottle spirits, wine or malt liquor to distillers, rectifiers, brewers, bottlers and wineries, as defined in section 2, operating under federal law and federal supervision.[1993, c. 730, §46 (amd).]
      1-A. Breweries. The following provisions apply to the manufacturer's license issued to a brewery other than a small brewery licensed under subsection 2.
   
A. The holder of a brewery license may produce malt liquor in an amount exceeding 50,000 gallons a year. [1987, c. 623, §15 (rpr).]    
B. The holder of a brewery license may permit sampling of the malt liquor product on the premises:   
(1) By employees for the purpose of quality control of the product;  
(2) By wholesalers for the purpose of determining whether to carry the brewery's product as a wholesale product, provided that the holder of the brewery license pays the excise tax on the product sampled according to section 1652; and  
(3) By the public in conjunction with a tour of the brewery's facilities, provided that:  
(a) The holder of the brewery license pays the excise tax on the product sampled according to section 1652; and  
(b) Minors are not permitted to consume or possess any liquor or imitation liquor as defined in section 2. [2001, c. 501, §1 (amd).]    
C. The holder of a brewery license may sell on the brewery premises during regular business hours to nonlicensees only a specialty package of malt liquor produced at the brewery. The volume of the specialty package may not exceed 15.5 gallons and must be consumed off the premises. The sale of specialty packages described in this paragraph must comply with keg tagging requirements provided in section 714. The brewery shall submit a monthly report to its wholesaler detailing sales made directly from the brewery premises. The wholesaler shall calculate the fees for any bottle deposit and submit an invoice to the brewery for expenses associated with the requirements prescribed in Title 32, chapter 28 including the retailer handling fee, state container deposit and a mutually agreed-upon pick-up fee. [2001, c. 236, §1 (amd).]    
D. The holder of a brewery license may sell the brewery's product to wholesalers. [1987, c. 623, §15 (rpr).]    
E. The holder of a brewery license may be issued one license under chapter 43 per brewery location for the sale of liquor to be consumed on the premises at the brewery.   
(1) The retail license must be held exclusively by the holder of the brewery license.  
(2) This retail license authorizes the sale of products of the brewery, other than the specialty package under paragraph C, in addition to other liquor permitted to be sold under the retail license, to be consumed on the premises.  
(3) Notwithstanding section 1361, the brewery licensee may sell products of the brewery directly to the retail licensee under this paragraph without selling to a wholesale licensee. The brewery licensee shall keep and maintain complete records on all sales to the retail licensee.  
(4) All records of the brewery licensee must be kept separate from the records of the retail licensee. [1999, c. 790, Pt. A, §34 (rpr).] [2001, c. 236, §1 and c. 501, §1 (amd).]
      2. Small breweries. The following conditions apply to licenses issued to small breweries.
   
A. A holder of a small brewery license may produce malt liquor containing 25% or less alcohol by volume in an amount not to exceed 50,000 gallons per year. [1993, c. 730, §46 (amd).]    
A-1. A holder of a small brewery license may permit sampling of the malt liquor product on the premises for the following purposes.   
(1) Employees may sample the product for the purpose of quality control of the product.  
(2) Wholesalers and retailers may sample the product for the purpose of determining whether to carry the product as a wholesale or retail product, provided that the holder of the small brewery license pays the excise tax on the product sampled according to section 1652.  
(3) The public may sample the product in conjunction with a tour of the brewery's facilities, provided that:  
(a) The holder of the small brewery license pays the excise tax on the product according to section 1652; and  
(b) Minors are not permitted to consume or possess any liquor or imitation liquor as defined in section 2. [2001, c. 501, §2 (amd).]    
B. A holder of a small brewery license may sell, on the premises during regular business hours, malt liquor produced at the brewery by the bottle, by the case or in bulk. [1993, c. 730, §46 (amd).]    
C. A holder of a small brewery license may sell or deliver the product to licensed retailers and wholesalers. The licensee may sell, on the premises for consumption off the premises, malt liquor produced at the brewery by the bottle, case or in bulk to licensed retailers, including, but not limited to, off-premise retail licensees, restaurants and clubs. [1993, c. 730, §46 (amd).]    
D. A holder of a small brewery license may apply for one license for the sale of liquor to be consumed on the premises for a location other than the brewery. [1993, c. 730, §46 (amd).]    
E. A holder of a small brewery license may list on product labels and in its advertising the list of the ingredients and the product's average percentage of the recommended daily allowances of nutritional requirements. [1993, c. 730, §46 (amd).] [2001, c. 504, §2 (amd).]
      2-A. Small breweries that exceed production limit; license renewal. The bureau, upon application by the holder of a small brewery license whose brewery has produced malt liquor in an amount that exceeds 50,000 gallons in one year, may renew that holder's small brewery license for only one additional year.[2001, c. 236, §2 (new).]
      3. Farm wineries. The following conditions apply to farm wineries.
   
A. A holder of a farm winery license may produce wines and sparkling wines in an amount not to exceed 50,000 gallons a year. [1993, c. 730, §46 (amd).]    
A-1. A holder of a farm winery license may fortify wine produced by the farm winery license holder and import spirits solely for this purpose. If the farm winery license holder produces fortified wine pursuant to this paragraph, the combined total of wine, sparkling wine and fortified wine produced at the farm winery may not exceed 50,000 gallons per year. For purposes of this paragraph, "fortified wine" means wine to which spirits have been added as long as the resulting liquor does not exceed 24% alcohol by volume. [1999, c. 535, §6 (new).]    
B. A holder of a farm winery license may serve complimentary samples of wine and sell, during regular business hours, wines produced at the winery by the bottle, by the case or in bulk on the premises of the winery to persons who are not minors. A holder of a farm winery license may serve complimentary samples of wine on Sunday after the hour of 12 noon and may sell wines on Sunday after the hour of 12 noon if the municipality in which the winery is located has authorized the sale of wines on Sunday for consumption off the premises under chapter 5. [1993, c. 730, §46 (amd).]    
C. A holder of a farm winery license, upon application to and approval of the bureau and payment of the license fees, may obtain licenses for up to 2 additional locations other than the winery licensed under this subsection. The holder of the licenses is not required to conduct any bottling or production of wine at the additional licensed locations but may conduct all activities permitted by this section at the winery. [1999, c. 275, §2 (amd).]    
D. A holder of a farm winery license may sell or deliver the product to licensed retailers and wholesalers and may sell, on the premises, wine produced at the winery by the bottle, by the case or in bulk to licensed retailers, including, but not limited to, off-premise retail licensees, restaurants and clubs. [1993, c. 730, §46 (amd).] [1999, c. 535, §6 (amd).]
      4. Bottlers.[1987, c. 342, §107 (rp).]
      5. Maine farm wineries.[1987, c. 342, §107 (rp).]
      6. Other wineries.[1987, c. 342, §107 (rp).]
      7. Wineries.[1987, c. 342, §107 (rp).]
      8. Small brewer distiller license. The following conditions apply to small brewer distiller licenses.
   
A. To be eligible for a small brewer distiller license, a person must hold a small breweries license under subsection 2 and obtain a basic permit for distilling, rectifying, blending and bottling spirits from the federal Department of the Treasury, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. [2005, c. 377, §1 (new).]    
B. A holder of a small brewer distiller license may produce distilled spirits in an amount not to exceed 30,000 gallons per year. [2005, c. 377, §1 (new).]    
C. A holder of a small brewer distiller license may hold up to 3 Maine retail licenses for the sale of liquor to be produced at the distillery and to be consumed on the premises at a connected establishment. For purposes of this paragraph, "connected establishment" means a Class A restaurant or Class A restaurant/lounge that is owned in whole or in part by the holder of the small brewer distiller license. All records of the small brewer distiller license must be kept separate from the records of the retail licensee. [2005, c. 377, §1 (new).]    
D. Spirits produced by a holder of a small brewer distiller license must be sold to the State and are subject to the listing, pricing and distribution provisions of this Title. [2005, c. 377, §1 (new).]    
E. A holder of a small brewer distiller license may permit sampling of the spirits on the distillery premises by employees for quality control purposes. [2005, c. 377, §1 (new).]    
F. A holder of a small brewer distiller license may list on a product's label and in its advertising the ingredients and the product's average percentage of the recommended daily allowances of nutritional requirements. [2005, c. 377, §1 (new).]    
G. The holder of a small brewer distiller license is subject to all inspections and other oversight applied to large distilleries in the State by the State Government and the Federal Government. [2005, c. 377, §1 (new).] [2005, c. 377, §1 (new).]
      9. Small brewer distiller licensee that exceeds production limit; license renewal. The bureau, upon application by the holder of a small brewer distiller license whose distillery has produced distilled spirits in an amount that exceeds 30,000 gallons in one year, may renew that holder's small brewer distiller license for only one additional year.[2005, c. 377, §1 (new).]

Section History:

PL 1987,  Ch. 45,   §A4 (NEW).
PL 1987,  Ch. 248,   § (AMD).
PL 1987,  Ch. 342,   §107 (RPR).
PL 1987,  Ch. 623,   §15 (RPR).
PL 1993,  Ch. 60,   §1 (AMD).
PL 1993,  Ch. 542,   §1,2 (AMD).
PL 1993,  Ch. 730,   §46 (AMD).
PL 1997,  Ch. 373,   §113 (AMD).
PL 1999,  Ch. 275,   §2 (AMD).
PL 1999,  Ch. 535,   §6 (AMD).
PL 1999,  Ch. 790,   §A34 (AMD).
PL 2001,  Ch. 236,   §1,2 (AMD).
PL 2001,  Ch. 501,   §1,2 (AMD).
PL 2005,  Ch. 377,   §1 (AMD).