The recently introduced Senate Bill 138 would create an exception from state franchise laws for alcohol manufacturers producing fewer than 250,000 barrels of beer annually.
The US National Association of Wine Retailers (NAWR) has applauded the latest decision of a court of appeal in Ohio which has sent a “discriminatory” Ohio law, which bars Ohio residents from receiving wine shipments from out-of-state wine retailers, back to the lower courts.
Ohio's craft brewing industry is campaigning for a change to franchise laws that they say unfairly lock them into wholesale contracts and hinder their growth.
Beer suppliers take issue with Ohio laws that they say protect wholesalers to the detriment of the brewing industry by making it hard to cancel contracts with distributors.