about contract brewing

[dead drift]

Hi, first post here. I have a question about the ins and out of contract brewing for craft breweries and for large "macro" breweries. A friend has told me that any brewery can claim that their beer is brewed on-site in their own facilities if it has as little as 3% content of such beer. That is, to cite a specific example, Anchor Brewing (Anchor Steam, Liberty Ale, etc.) can contract to gigantic breweries in Milwaukee to produce "Anchor Steam" as long as the facility in California produces 3% of the product... not sure if this is per bottle or total production under the brand name. I have been told that Anchor breweries does in fact do this, at the Miller plant in Miwaukee. I have also been told that Corona beer is brewed under the same paradigm, that is, only 3% of such beer is brewed on site in Mexico.

Please advise on the truth of this claim, and if you could cite or point me to authoritative 3rd party info it would be greatly appreciated. A bet is waiting to be settled... plus I'd just like to be sure that I know where my expensive microbrews are coming from.

Thanks and cheers!

[lhall]

You probably lose your bet. Anchor Steam is hard enough to get because it is all brewed in San Francisco - third party reference, try anyone in the brewing industry. Corona I am almost 100% sure is brewed only in Mexico, but who really cares. If you like the taste of Corona then put a lime in your Bud Light.

As to the legal restrictions on truth-in-labelling for contract brewing: there are none. Actually A-B made a big stink about it a while back to try to discredit Sam Adams. As long as the taxes are paid and the ingredients are approved, the ATF and the rest of the government doesn't care where the beer is actually made. It is up to the consumer to try to figure out where the beer is actually made if it doesn't say so right on the label.

[admin]

Not True

Your friend is totally wrong.

There is no such thing as a “3 percent rule” of any kind.

Anchor brews all of their beer at their San Francisco facility.

Label requirements are a complex issue. Many breweries do contract brewing or brew “under license” at other facilities. Some imports are brewed here in the U.S. and visa versa. If you are in the industry, you should know these standards. Contact your local office of the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) for details.

It is of course appreciated by craft brewers not to spread false rumors.

Cheers!

Admin.

[Moonlight]

In California (at least), you must put the name of the legal entity (usually some discrete dba) owning the brewery license or the licensed owner of the beer produced, and the city or cities it is produced in. At Trader Joes, check out the contract beers and they will say like "Fat Weasel Brewing Co." (a Trader Joe's dba) and have the city of the brewery where it was contracted. Knowing your geography you can tell which real brewery made the beer.