SUPPORT
Some breweries are too small to produce the amount of beer they want to sell. Instead of scaling up their operations, they utilize “contract brewers” to help produce large scale amounts of their product. Contract brewers have the infrastructure to produce large volumes of their own beer, as well as take on the needs of smaller breweries who are not established or do not care to take on the additional costs of a large scale facility.
Whether it is a small brewery or a larger contract brewery, most are equipped with their own tap room. A tap room is a feature at a brewery designed to showcase the brands owned or controlled by that brewer. They allow customers to sample the product on site or purchase specific amounts for consumption at home.
SB 1588 clarifies this original intent by not allowing a brewer, Class 1 or Class 2 brewer or a craft distiller to sell brands of beer/spirits they do not own or control at their tap room. SB 1588 also stipulates they may not self-distribute those brands. Beer distributors in Illinois provide significant innovation for our state, offering over five-thousand different brands to consumers. We seek to grow the brands of the beverages our members distribute, while maintaining the integrity of the three-tier regulatory system.
