---
title: SB 456. Alcoholic Beverages; regulation of the manufacture, distribution, and sale; provide
collection: bills
id: 2025-2026/sb456
cite_as: SB 456, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.)
canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb456
md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb456.md
text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb456/text
source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/72794
date: 2026-02-04
status: introduced
corpus_version: bills-2026-09-13
license: Public record of the Georgia General Assembly, via LegiScan; see about.md
publisher: Georgia Commons, an independent project of Georgia Civic Data. Not the State of Georgia. Not legal advice.
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omitted: votes and history
omitted_chars: 95
omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb456.md?full=1
bill_number: SB 456
session: 2025-2026 Regular Session
session_slug: 2025-2026
chamber: Senate
bill_type: bill
status_date: 2026-02-03
last_action: Senate Read and Referred
sponsors:
- Timothy Bearden
- Jason Anavitarte
- Randy Robertson
- Carden Summers
- Billy Hickman
- Chuck Hufstetler
- John Albers
- Sonya Halpern
- Nan Orrock
- Josh McLaurin
- Nikki Merritt
- Elena Parent
text_version: Introduced
has_text: true
legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/SB456/2025
upstream_id: 2106800
summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5
topic_tags:
- alcohol regulation
- craft breweries
- beer sales laws
- small business
- liquor licensing
---
# SB 456. Alcoholic Beverages; regulation of the manufacture, distribution, and sale; provide
## Text
Senate Bill 456
By: Senators Bearden of the 30th, Anavitarte of the 31st, Robertson of the 29th, Summers
of the 13th, Hickman of the 4th and others
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
To amend Title 3 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to alcoholic beverages,
so as to provide for regulation of the manufacture, distribution, and sale of certain alcoholic
beverages; to provide for a definition; to provide for the state revenue commissioner to
promulgate certain rules and regulations; to authorize manufacturers of malt beverages to sell
the malt beverages they produce, subject to certain limitations and conditions; to increase the
daily maximum of malt beverages per individual per day of sales for consumption off the
premises; to permit small brewers to sell a limited quantity of malt beverages at wholesale;
to provide for related matters; to provide for effective dates; to repeal conflicting laws; and
for other purposes.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:
SECTION 1.
Title 3 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to alcoholic beverages, is
amended by adding a new paragraph to Code Section 3-1-2, relating to definitions, to read
as follows:
"(20.1) 'Small brewer' means a brewer or brewpub whose sales of products to such
brewer's or brewpub's wholesaler licensed under this title, if any, do not exceed 15
percent of such wholesaler's total sales in the prior calendar year."
SECTION 2.
Said title is further amended by revising subsection (b) of Code Section 3-5-24.1, relating to
exception to three-tier system, transfer of liquids, sales at brewer's licensed premises, taxing,
regulatory authority, and conditions or limitations, as follows:
"(b) A limited exception to the provisions of this title providing a three-tier system for the
distribution and sale of malt beverages shall exist to the extent that the license to
manufacture malt beverages in this state shall include the right to sell malt beverages to
individuals on the brewer's licensed premises for personal use and not for resale, subject
to the following terms and conditions:
(1) The brewer may only make sales of malt beverages to an individual while the
individual is physically on the brewer's licensed premises where the brewer produces malt
beverages;
(2) The brewer may make sales of malt beverages the brewer produces at the brewer's
licensed premises where the individual is purchasing the malt beverages;
(3) As long as the brewer and all of the brewer's licensed premises are under common
ownership, the brewer may make sales of malt beverages the brewer produces at any
licensed premises of the brewer and subsequently transfers in compliance with the
limitations and reporting obligations of subsection (c) of this Code section to the brewer's
licensed premises for sale where the individual is purchasing the malt beverages;
(4) The brewer may only make sales of malt beverages for which the brewer is the sole
owner of the brand and brand label;
(5) Sales for consumption on the premises are not subject to a daily maximum amount;
(6) Sales for consumption off the premises shall not exceed a maximum of 288 ounces
of malt beverages per individual per day are not subject to a daily maximum amount; and
(7) The maximum amount of malt beverages the brewer may sell pursuant to this
subsection (b) of this Code section in each calendar year shall be 6,000 barrels in the
aggregate among all brewer's licensed premises making such sales."
SECTION 3.
Said title is further amended by adding a new Code section to read as follows:
"3-5-24.2.
(a) Notwithstanding the provisions of Code Section 3-5-24.1 and as a limited exception
to the provisions of this title providing a three-tier system for the distribution and sale of
malt beverages, the license to manufacture malt beverages in this state shall include for
small brewers the right to:
(1) Sell per calendar year up to 1,000 barrels of malt beverages produced at the small
brewer's licensed premises at wholesale to retailers licensed in this state that are located
within the same county as the small brewer's licensed premises;
(2) Sell, deliver, and ship its malt beverages to other licensed brewers and brewpubs; and
(3) Acquire and receive deliveries and shipments of such malt beverages made by other
licensed brewers and brewpubs.
(b) The commissioner shall promulgate and enforce such rules and regulations as he or she
may deem reasonable and necessary to effectuate the provisions of this Code section."
SECTION 4.
Said title is further amended by revising Code Section 3-5-27, relating to malt beverages
acquired by retail dealers from persons other than licensed wholesale dealers declared
contraband, as follows:
"3-5-27.
Except as otherwise provided in this chapter, any Any malt beverage possessed, sold, or
offered for sale by a retail dealer which was purchased or otherwise acquired from any
person other than a wholesale dealer authorized to do business under this chapter is
declared to be contraband and shall be seized by the commissioner or the appropriate local
authorities and disposed of by the commissioner in the manner provided in this title."
SECTION 5.
For purposes of proposing rules and regulations, this Act shall become effective upon its
approval by the Governor or upon its becoming law without such approval. For all other
purposes, this Act shall become effective on July 1, 2026.
SECTION 6.
All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.
## Summaries written by Georgia Commons
The following was written by claude-sonnet-5 from the text above and is not part of the bill. Quote the text, not the summary.
A Georgia Senate bill would let small beer brewers sell limited amounts directly to local retailers, remove the daily cap on off-premises beer sales at brewery taproom, and define what counts as a 'small brewer' under state law.
### Plain-language summary
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.
### What it does
- 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.
### Who it affects
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.
### Why it matters
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.
### Key provisions
- 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.
## Status
- Status: Introduced (2026-02-03)
- Last action: Senate Read and Referred (2026-02-04)
- Sponsors: Timothy Bearden, Jason Anavitarte, Randy Robertson, Carden Summers, Billy Hickman, Chuck Hufstetler, John Albers, Sonya Halpern, Nan Orrock, Josh McLaurin, Nikki Merritt, Elena Parent
- Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/72794
> The history, votes, and amendments (95 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb456.md?full=1