media buzz

A few weeks ago Virginia Lawyers Weekly recognized our busy, growing beer law practice. The August 13th article, by Matthew Chaney, covered the rise of Virginia brewing in general, and featured our beer law practice.

The article noted:

“A big change happened in 2012 when Virginia changed their rules to allow brewery tasting rooms to serve full pours of beer for on-premise consumption,” said Daniel J. Christopherson, an attorney at Lehrman Beverage Law in Fairfax County. “That was when the floodgates opened to the point where new breweries seemed to be opening every week.”

Christopherson is just one of six attorneys working in beer law at the Northern Virginia-based firm founded by Robert C. Lehrman. Without listing clients, he said their firm represents about 25 Virginia breweries.

Lehrman, who’s been working in the industry since 1988, and at his own firm since 2001, said that he thinks the biggest difference, besides the law, is that people followed the example of successful craft beer companies like Sam Adams and Sierra Nevada.

Apart from the potential for conflicts between brewers and distributors, all three attorneys agreed that Virginia’s laws are favorable to brewing, which could also be a factor in the recent renaissance.

“Virginia is a very conducive, hospitable place for food businesses and beverage businesses,” Lehrman said. “I strongly recommend companies situate...

This is not quite the Trump Vodka of yore, but it is quite Trumpy nonetheless. Don’t you think so?

The whiskey on the left is America First Whiskey, approved for a DSP in San Marcos, California. I believe I see some sharks and monster trucks to go along with the tanks, jets, and deltoids. I found a discussion about the goals for this label, and it appears that the designer nailed it:  “We want people who love Donald Trump and the idea of “Make America Great Again” to look at this logo and say ‘Hell yes! That’s the whiskey I want!’” They also considered throwing in some fanny packs, and a T-Rex — but perhaps that would go too far. The bottler proclaimed:  “We’re [making a whiskey for Americans]  interested in Freedom, beards, rifles, explosions, The US Constitution, military/veterans, and reflecting on how badass Donald Trump is.”

The wine, on the right, is branded as Make America Grape Again, American Red Wine. It is bottled by Azari Winery of Petaluma, California.

And then there is Covfefe, with no less than six related label approvals:

1. Artisanal Covfefe Stout
2. Imperialist Pig Covfefe Stout
3. Covfefe Merlot
4. Covfefe Red
5. Saugatuck Covfefe Ale
6. ………………….and…………………………..the first one out of the gate is Surly...

The latest issue of Beverage Master just came in last week. It is the October-November issue and has a fine article about Moonshine University, if I may say so myself. A small excerpt is below, and you can find the entire article, and indeed the whole issue, here.

There is a lot of talk about Moonshine University, launched in early 2013. As this Louisville, Kentucky training center moves toward year five of educating new distillers, I contacted some of the principals, to see how it’s going. The questions are from me, and most of the answers are from Christin Head, Registrar at Moonshine University.

1. What is Moonshine University? Moonshine University is an artisan distillery and education center located in downtown Louisville, Kentucky. Our distillery is adjacent to our state-of-the-art classroom and is set up for small runs and hands-on distilling training. We offer technical training and business management education for start-ups, industry professionals, and those looking for careers in the distilling industry. Our courses are designed and taught by distillery operators, industry insiders, and world-renowned master distillers.

2. When did it start and how many classes so far? Moonshine University opened in January 2013. We have just completed our thirteenth session of our flagship course, the 5-Day Distiller Course. All...