Ogden Glazer + Schaefer is a proud affiliate member of the Wisconsin Brewers Guild and the Wisconsin Winery Association.
Wisconsin is one of the best places in the world for food and beverage companies. Agriculture is a cornerstone of our economy, and value-added agriculture is central to the continued development of the industry. We believe in sustainable and regenerative agriculture; we believe in sustainable and regenerative businesses. We not only believe in your triple bottom line, but we believe in ours, too.
Wisconsin is synonymous with beer; our clients include numerous breweries, wineries, meaderies, distilleries, and alcohol-producers of all types. Our attorneys are recognized experts in state and federal alcohol regulation (article: A Web of Regulations: Starting a Brewery). We can make sure you get help with your brewery, winery, or spirits permits and licenses and get through your label or recipe approvals. We work regularly with the TTB, DOR, and municipalities to get your product in front of customers.
Producers, Distributors, Retailers
Our Food and Beverage Practice
Recipes, Trademarks, Package Design
Label Approval and Guidance
Regulatory Compliance
Federal, State, Local Licensing
Agriculture and Real Estate
If you are a retailer looking for an on-premise or off-premise beer, wine, or liquor license we can help with that, too.
We even work with distributors to help find and secure their locations and all of the licenses necessary to get product out to market.
We aren’t just beverages though. We help food entrepreneurs of all stripes with services spanning startup packages for putting your team together to asset purchase agreements when you are ready to find your next passion. We have negotiated distribution and wholesale agreements, contract production agreements, alternating proprietorship and custom crush agreements, and any of the numerous other ways you might find yourself doing business. We’ve worked with farm, processing, wholesale, and retail clients on cannabis and related products including CBD and other cannabis derivatives.
Our attorneys know farms. In our agricultural practice we work with your farm to protect your valuable assets and real estate, help you finance your production and growth, and move your value-added production on-site.
Recent Blog Posts about Food and Beverage
Wedding Barns Under Attack - The Tavern League and Distributors have been trying to get wedding barns closed for years. Why? Because the members of the Tavern League include hotels, restaurants, and convention centers. People are choosing to get married at barns instead of hotels and holding events at barns instead of convention centers and restaurants. Tavern League and Distributors ... Read more
No Quippy Acronyms Here – TTB CBMTR Guidance - The United States Tobacco and Trade Bureau (“TTB”) has finally issued guidance around the pieces of Craft Beverage Modernization and Tax Reform (the TTB is not as good at acronyms or naming as our legislators) contained in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (“Tax Act”). The Tax Act made a number of changes to ... Read more
Lambic, Gueuze, and Methode Traditionelle - There is a really long explanation that goes around Certification Marks, Geographical Indications, and the respect Americans must give to their European counterparts. Moreover, there is a long and tortured history of international law, broken treaties, and implemented international protocols dedicated to recognizing trademarks, appelation d’origine controlle (AOC), and other designations across borders. I’m not ... Read more
A Calmer Voice of Reason - A lot of attention has been paid in the media and industry regarding a new proposed law affecting breweries. Given this, we thought a special, non-Tuesday blog post was warranted. Jeff Glazer provides his opinion regarding this proposal. So Jeff writing AND out on a Thursday – very special indeed! I know. Me? The calm ... Read more
Brewing Up Confusion - I admit it, one of my favorite things about craft beer is the clever names. There are puns, odd references, and just plain silliness. It just tickles my fancy. But they are also trademarks, and as more beers come on the market, there are more chances for conflict. These disputes have been highlighted by several ... Read more