By Jason Emerson

Editor

Within a span of one week, Gov. Andrew Cuomo recently put his signature on two pieces of legislation that will modernize the state’s alcoholic beverage laws to ease regulatory requirements for wineries, breweries, distilleries and cideries and allow alcoholic beverages to be sold before noon on Sundays.

While these changes affect all producers in the state, for Cazenovia, especially, with its four breweries, one winery, one cidery, two distilleries and vast agricultural businesses supplying ingredients to each, the new laws are a boon.

“This is the state’s commitment to the craft beverage industry more than anything else,” said David Katleski, owner of Empire Brewing Company and president of the New York State Brewers Association, who was a major force in getting the news laws through the legislature. “I think [both bills] will benefit everyone [in the industry] in the end — it will certainly benefit Empire.”

Bill A8617/S6307A also called the “Sunday Blue Law” bill, changes the state ABC law to allow alcoholic beverages to be sold before noon on Sundays — a restriction that has been in place since Prohibition. The law expands Sunday sales at restaurants and bars by changing the statewide opening hours from noon to 10 a.m., it also enables these licensees to apply for a permit to sell alcoholic beverages for consumption on the premises on Sundays between 8 a.m. and the new 10 a.m. opening hour in areas outside New York City.

The law also eliminates burdensome paperwork requirements for craft manufacturers by combining multiple craft manufacturing licenses into one application; allows the sale of wine in growlers, which was previously prohibited, and allow customers to take home partially finished bottles of wine; and reduces fees for small wholesalers.

This law also impacts restaurant owners and golf clubs, which both do brisk business on Sunday mornings that often see consumers looking for a beer or other alcoholic drink before noon.

Richard Hubbard, owner of The Brewster Inn, which has brunch every Sunday, said he thinks the law will certainly have a positive effect on his business and all restaurants. “I think most places have avoided maybe doing brunch because of that law, and maybe now they see another income stream. It certainly will help pay for staff and overhead,” he said. “The law was so outdated; I’m surprised it took them this long to change it.”

Cuomo signed that bill into law on Sept. 7 at a special signing event at Genesee Brew House in Rochester.

The governor also signed two bills on Sept. 13 to further strengthen the state’s craft beverage industry.

Bill S.5707/A.7960A, which is an amendment to the previous farm brewery law, will allow farm breweries to sell any New York-made farm alcoholic beverage by the glass at their production facility or off-site branch store. Previously, breweries could sell licensed farm beer and cider, but they were not allowed to sell licensed New York state farm wine or spirits. This law opens the field to allow all types of licensed alcohol beverages to be sold.

Bill S.5341/A.5580 will allow farm cideries to sell for on-premise consumption New York wine, beer or spirits, which they are currently not allowed to do, although farm wineries and farm breweries are able to sell cider by the glass at their premises and promote New York farm cideries. The bill is intended to “create parity” between farm beverage licensees and help to increase the awareness of New York farm beverages, according to the New York Farm Bureau.

“These new laws further break down artificial barriers and help increase exposure to New York’s world class beer, wine, cider and spirits, which will help this already booming industry grow further,” Cuomo said in a released statement. “As I’ve said many times, when New Yorkers buy and support New York products, everyone wins.”

Assemblyman Bill Magee, Chair of the Assembly Agriculture Committee, said, “This legislation, which I proudly sponsored, eliminates archaic sales restrictions on farm brewed alcohol products. This action will increase opportunities for agri-businesses, hospitality and tourism to flourish in New York.”

For companies like Life of Reilley, which currently does not have its own tasting room, the farm brewery law amendment will allow farm breweries to help promote distillery and other business by having tastings or selling the product on their premises, Katleski said.

“There’s a cross-pollination between the four sectors that ultimately will help everybody, I think,” Katleski said.

Ben Reilley, owner of Life of Reilley, which is headquartered in the Nelson-Cazenovia area, the new farm bill has already been a boon to his business. “I’ve already had 20 farm breweries contact me from Buffalo to Albany to Binghamton to Old Forge,” he said.

One of the biggest beneficiaries of the new craft beverage bills in the Cazenovia area will be Critz Farms, which has a dual license to make and sell both hard cider and beer — and, as a working farm, produces a number of the ingredients used in all categories of alcoholic beverages.

“It all comes from the laws after Prohibition was repealed — they tried to make alcohol sales as difficult as possible — it’s just taken a while to fix,” said Matt Critz, owner of Critz Farms with his wife Juanita. “Now we have a governor who has taken an interest in the beverage industry; and a lot of credit goes to Assemblyman Bill Magee because he was instrumental in the first farm winery years ago. I think this state has finally seen what farm winery licenses did for the grape industry, so now they’re doing it for farm breweries cideries, distillery licenses.”

Critz said the law changes will help his business in numerous ways: the licensing application is “10 times easier” than it previously was, earlier alcohol sales on Sunday will allow the Critz Farms tasting room to do more business, Critz can now sell spirits by the glass if they so choose and their beverage products will have greater exposure around the state because the new laws will allow other state farm beverage producers to sell it.

“Being a farmer also I think it’s great because it encourages more New York state products being sold and grown,” Critz said. “I think it’s great for agriculture.”