Authorized activities of brewers and wineries

Also under current law, the Department of Revenue issues permits to producers of alcohol beverages. A brewer's permit authorizes a brewer to, among other activities, manufacture fermented malt beverages (beer) and sell at retail, without a retail license, the brewer's own beer and certain other Wisconsin-made beer at the brewery premises and at one off-site retail outlet of the brewer. The brewer may also provide free taste samples of beer at these locations. A winery permit authorizes the winery to, among other activities, manufacture wine, including cider. A winery may also hold one retail license and sell its wine at this licensed location without the wine first passing through a wholesaler.

Under this bill, if a person holds both a winery permit and a brewer's permit, the permittee may sell its own cider at retail, without a retail license, at the brewery premises and at the brewer's off-site retail outlet. The permittee may also provide free taste samples of cider at these locations. For purposes of the bill, “cider" means fermented apple or pear juice with an alcohol content not exceeding 7 percent alcohol by volume. The permittee may provide the cider directly from the winery to the brewery premises or brewer's off-site retail outlet without the cider first passing through a wholesaler.