SB 456: Alcoholic Beverages; regulation of the manufacture, distribution, and sale; provide

Georgia's alcohol laws generally require a three-tier system in which manufacturers sell to wholesalers, who sell to retailers, who sell to the public. This bill carves out new exceptions to that system for beer. It creates a legal definition of 'small brewer' as a brewer or brewpub whose sales to its wholesaler make up no more than 15 percent of that wholesaler's total sales in the prior year. The bill removes the current 288-ounce daily cap on how much beer a brewery can sell an individual to take home from its own premises, while sales for on-site drinking remain uncapped as they already were. It also lets qualifying small brewers sell up to 1,000 barrels per year at wholesale directly to retailers in the same county, and lets brewers trade beer with each other. The state revenue commissioner would write rules to carry this out. The rulemaking parts take effect once the Governor signs the bill; everything else takes effect July 1, 2026.

• Adds a new legal definition of 'small brewer' to Georgia's alcohol code (O.C.G.A. § 3-1-2), based on a wholesaler sales percentage test.
• Removes the existing 288-ounce daily limit on malt beverages a brewery can sell one person for off-premises consumption.
• Creates a new exception letting small brewers sell up to 1,000 barrels of beer per year at wholesale directly to retailers in their own county.
• Allows small brewers to sell, deliver, and receive shipments of beer to and from other licensed brewers and brewpubs.
• Directs the state revenue commissioner to write rules and regulations to enforce the new small brewer wholesale exception.
• Clarifies that beer seized as contraband rules apply except where the bill's new exceptions say otherwise.

Georgia beer manufacturers, brewpubs, and small brewers who sell directly to the public or to retailers; licensed wholesalers and retailers who currently distribute beer under the three-tier system; and the state revenue commissioner's office, which must write new rules to enforce the changes.

Breweries could sell more beer directly to customers for takeout without a daily ounce limit, and qualifying small brewers could bypass wholesalers to sell limited amounts straight to local retailers, changing how beer moves from producers to Georgia consumers in some markets.

• Section 1 adds a definition of 'small brewer' to O.C.G.A. § 3-1-2, tied to a brewer's sales making up no more than 15 percent of its wholesaler's total sales in the prior year.
• Section 2 revises O.C.G.A. § 3-5-24.1 to eliminate the 288-ounce daily maximum on off-premises beer sales at a brewer's licensed premises.
• Section 2 keeps the existing annual cap of 6,000 barrels total that a brewer may sell under that Code section across all its licensed premises.
• Section 3 creates a new Code Section 3-5-24.2 letting small brewers sell up to 1,000 barrels per year at wholesale to same-county retailers and trade beer with other brewers.
• Section 3 directs the revenue commissioner to issue rules to enforce the new small brewer exception.
• Section 4 revises O.C.G.A. § 3-5-27 so the contraband rule for improperly acquired beer applies except where other chapter provisions create exceptions.
• Section 5 makes the rulemaking provisions effective upon the Governor's signature, with all other provisions effective July 1, 2026.

1. 2026-02-04Senate Read and Referred (Senate)
2. 2026-02-03Senate Hopper (Senate)

• Timothy Bearden (R, SD-030)Primary sponsor
• Jason Anavitarte (R, SD-031)
• Randy Robertson (R, SD-029)
• Carden Summers (R, SD-013)
• Billy Hickman (R, SD-004)
• Chuck Hufstetler (R, SD-052)
• John Albers (R, SD-056)
• Sonya Halpern (D, SD-039)
• Nan Orrock (D, SD-036)
• Josh McLaurin (D, SD-014)
• Nikki Merritt (D, SD-009)
• Elena Parent (D, SD-044)

• alcohol regulation
• craft breweries
• beer sales laws
• small business
• liquor licensing