Two bills passed by House aim to clarify laws governingsale of specialty alcoholic beverages

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(From the House Republican Caucus)

Two bills passed by the House of Representatives Thursday aim to clarify laws governing the sale of specialty  alcoholic beverages.

“Delaware Code, as written in the 1990s, said that in order to make mead or hard cider you had to be a brewery,”  Spiegelman said. “Meanwhile, federal law says you have to be a winery.”

The contradiction created a problem for Harvest Ridge Winery, which is located near Marydel in  Spiegelman’s 11th District, as well as a meadery trying to open in Milton. If operators made mead as a micro-brewery, they would be violating federal law. If the business operated as a winery, it would be breaking state law.

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Harvest Ridge has introduced Rebel Seed, a hard cider that uses apples grown in Delaware.

Robert Walker, the co-owner of what will be The Brimming Horn Meadery in Milton, said in a letter to legislators that he and his partner spent more than eight months trying to get permission to set up their enterprise as a microbrewery. “Had this law been in effect last year, we would be open for business now,” he wrote.

The inconsistent laws also raised questions about the legality of selling mead — a beverage made by fermenting honey, water, and yeast — both inside Delaware and across state lines.

Spiegelman contacted the Office of the Delaware Alcoholic Beverage Control Commissioner for clarity. “They said: ‘We’re not really sure why it was written that way. Technically the feds are scientifically right, so we can very easily change the law,'” Rep. Spiegelman said.

House Bill 227, which passed the House unanimously and now heads to the Senate for consideration, harmonizes state law with federal law by allowing “farm wineries” to make and sell mead and cider in addition to wine.

The House on Thursday also unanimously approved House Bill 228.

The bipartisan legislation  allows  the sampling and sale of craft beer, distilled spirits, and wine at farmer’s markets or agricultural-themed events.

“It capitalizes on what we do best: agriculture, small business, and tourism,” said State Rep. Lyndon Yearick, R-Camden-Woodside, sponsor of the bill.

The Secretary of Agriculture would be responsible for determining what markets and events would qualify as appropriate under the law. Beverage sales would be limited to off-site consumption.

The bill is awaiting consideration in the Senate Banking and Business Committee.

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