Cheers to Change: The New Wis. Stat. 125 – Changes for Wedding Barns & Other Venues

I suppose this blog post could be called “All Good Things Must Come to an End.” As part of our series on the changes to Wis. Stat. 125 under Assembly Bill 304 (“AB304“), today we are focusing on some big changes coming down the pipeline for wedding barns and other wedding venues. Read on for … Read more

Bottles Up

As a firm of trademark and alcohol attorneys, it’s always a thrill when those two topics collide, especially on a major stage. We had one of those great moments of serendipity last week. The story begins with Diageo, the company that owns Bulleit Frontier Whiskey, a brand of whiskey that might be familiar to our … Read more

Cheers to Change: The New Wis. Stat. 125 – Contract Manufacturing

02/15/24 Update: A previous version of this post mentioned that product produced under a Contract Production agreement (#2 below) could be counted towards a Host’s total production volume for the purposes of Full Service Retail sale privileges under the new statute, that is not the case. Product produced under a contract production agreement\recipe brewing agreement … Read more

Cheers to Change: The New Wis. Stat. 125 – Full Service Retail

The landscape of Wisconsin’s alcoholic beverage regulations has recently undergone substantial changes with the revision of Wis. Stat. Chapter 125. In this post we will be discussing one of the most substantial changes, specifically, the ability of breweries, wineries, and distilleries to offer beer, wine, and spirits (“full service retail” under the new statute) at … Read more

Contract Distilling? Sure, We Can Do That!

Friday May 12, 2023 was a big day here at the office. Thanks to the efforts of City Brewing and Wisconsin Brewing Company, the Department of Revenue issued a declaratory ruling that approved contract production (through Alternating Proprietorships, or straight contract) between distilleries (and by extension and our reading of the statute, wineries too). This … Read more

My Gin Was Made From Vodka?

From Pixel Bay

This post is about Chapter 4 of the Distilled Spirits Beverage Alcohol Manual (“BAM“). The BAM is the classification guide the Alcohol Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (“TTB“) will use to classify a distilled spirits product into a category (whisky, gin, vodka etc.) depending on its formula. This post is pretty short, but pretty nerdy. … Read more

A Diagram for Success

One of the most critical steps in applying for your Brewers Notice with the TTB is putting together a diagram that shows your brewing operation and will be (happily) accepted by the TTB Agent assigned to review of your materials. Following, is a short list of the critical elements you need to include in the … Read more

Brewery & Winery? I can be both?

This post is a 30,000 foot view of the process of becoming a brewery and winery in Wisconsin simultaneously. Yes, you read that right, a brewery can also be a winery or vice versa. As small producers seek to differentiate themselves and expand their market presence, clients seeking to become both a brewery and a … Read more

Ethiopian Hops and Other Weird Ingredients

The history of beer is strewn with styles you’ve never heard of. We all know about pilsners, and IPAs, and stouts, and ambers. But what about wit, a fizzy yellow Dutch beer made with coriander and grains of paradise? Or gruit, a Northern European style brewed with pine, sweet gale, or mugwort? Or T’ej, an … Read more