SB 122: "Craft Beer and Local Economy Revitalization Act"; enact

Georgia law currently limits how brewers and brewpubs can sell their malt beverages directly to the public, and it caps how much beer a customer can buy to take home from a brewery in a single day. This bill, called the Craft Beer and Local Economy Revitalization Act, changes several of those rules. It creates a new legal category called a 'small brewer,' defined by how little of its beer goes through a wholesaler, and gives small brewers the right to sell up to 3,000 barrels a year directly to retailers within 100 miles of their brewery, bypassing the usual wholesaler middle step. The bill also lets brewers and brewpubs donate beer directly to nonprofit organizations running permitted charitable events, with rules on returning unused beer and who must transport it. It removes the daily maximum on beer sold for consumption off the premises (currently 288 ounces per person per day) and updates state tax law so excise taxes get paid on donated beer, not just sold beer.

• Creates a new legal category, 'small brewer,' for brewers or brewpubs whose sales to a wholesaler make up 15 percent or less of that wholesaler's total sales.
• Lets small brewers sell up to 3,000 barrels of beer per year directly to licensed retailers within 100 miles of their brewery, skipping the usual wholesaler step.
• Removes the current 288-ounce daily cap on malt beverages a customer can buy from a brewery to take home.
• Allows brewers and brewpubs to donate beer directly to nonprofit organizations running permitted charitable events, with rules on quantity, return of unused beer, and transport.
• Updates Georgia's excise tax rules so brewers and brewpubs must pay tax and file reports on donated beer, not just beer they sell.
• Adds an exception to the law that treats improperly acquired beer held by a retailer as contraband, to account for the new donation and small-brewer sales rules.

Craft brewers and brewpubs in Georgia, especially smaller operations that qualify as 'small brewers'; licensed beer wholesalers and retailers; nonprofit civic organizations that hold charitable event permits; and consumers who buy beer directly from breweries for home consumption.

Small breweries would gain a new way to reach retailers without going entirely through wholesalers, and customers could buy more beer to take home from a brewery in one visit. Charities running permitted events could receive donated beer directly from local brewers rather than buying it through normal retail channels.

• Section 2 adds a definition of 'small brewer' to O.C.G.A. § 3-1-2, based on sales making up no more than 15 percent of a wholesaler's total annual sales.
• Section 3 creates new O.C.G.A. § 3-5-6, allowing brewers and brewpubs to donate malt beverages to nonprofit-run charitable events, with limits on quantity and a 24-hour return window for unused beer.
• Section 4 revises O.C.G.A. § 3-5-24.1 to remove the daily maximum on beer sold for off-premises consumption, while keeping the 6,000-barrel annual cap on direct brewery sales.
• Section 5 creates new O.C.G.A. § 3-5-24.2, letting small brewers sell up to 3,000 barrels per year at wholesale to retailers within a 100-mile radius, and directs the state alcohol commissioner to write implementing rules.
• Section 6 revises O.C.G.A. § 3-5-27 to add an exception to the rule declaring improperly sourced beer at a retailer to be contraband.
• Section 7 revises O.C.G.A. § 3-5-81 so excise taxes, monthly reports, and tax remittance also cover donated beer, not just sold or served beer.

1. 2025-02-10Senate Read and Referred (Senate)
2. 2025-02-06Senate Hopper (Senate)

• John Albers (R, SD-056)Primary sponsor
• Randy Robertson (R, SD-029)
• Larry Walker (R, SD-020)
• Jason Esteves (D, SD-035)
• Jason Anavitarte (R, SD-031)
• Josh McLaurin (D, SD-014)
• Chuck Hufstetler (R, SD-052)
• RaShaun Kemp (D, SD-038)
• Timothy Bearden (R, SD-030)
• Sonya Halpern (D, SD-039)

• craft beer
• alcohol law
• small business
• brewery regulations
• charitable donations