Beer Institute Joins Lawsuit Against U.S. Treasury: A federal judge yesterday agreed to allow the industry trade group the Beer Institute (BI) to join a lawsuit filed by the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) against a pair of federal agencies regarding the collection of so-called “duty drawback claims.”

18 States Oppose Joint Employer Definition Favored by Restaurants: The attorneys general of 18 states have called on the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) to change its proposed new standard for determining when restaurant franchisors are liable for the employment practices of franchisees, a protest that threatens the joint employer definition favored by the industry.

Congress Must Reject Blumenauer-McClintock Amendment on Cannabis (Op-Ed): When the House of Representatives vote on the upcoming Commerce, Justice, and Science appropriations bill, there is a sneaky provision hidden in the amendment tree that would effectively bar the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) from taking action against bad actors in states that have passed “legal” recreational marijuana laws.

Spotify Claims It ‘Overpaid’ Songwriters and Wants Its Money Back: Spotify and music publishers have been in a bit of a tiff for months over a planned royalty rate increase that would require streaming services to pay more to artists. You can bet the company is watching the numbers closely, especially while it appeals the new rules.

Dems Push Craft Beer Tax Break Renewal, and More in Bill Headed for Markup: The House Ways and Means Committee announced its long-awaited markup of tax legislation with more than 50 provisions, including expansions of tax credits for lower-income workers and families with children and renewals of expired tax breaks for disparate interests ranging from biodiesel blenders to craft beer producers.

U.S. House Approves Measure to Protect State Cannabis Programs Against Federal Interference: In a historic vote Thursday, the U.S. House of Representatives approved a bipartisan measure to protect state cannabis programs against federal interference. The amendment to the bill prohibits the DOJ from using funds to prevent states, U.S. territories, and D.C. from implementing laws authorizing the use, distribution, possession, and cultivation of marijuana.

Health Groups Want Alcohol Labels to Warn of Cancer Risk: A coalition of consumer and public health organizations is asking the U.S. government to change warning labels on alcoholic beverages to tell consumers of potential cancer risks. Alcoholic beverages already carry a warning not to consume alcohol if you are pregnant or operating a motor vehicle. In a letter to the TTB, the groups asked TTB to begin the process of amending the health warning statement currently required to appear on all alcoholic beverage labels.

NACS: Retail Store Technology: What Do Customers Want?

National Beer Wholesalers Association: NBWA Statement on Supreme Court Ruling

Nielsen: Consumer Disloyalty Is the New Normal

Shanken News Daily: Supreme Court Strikes Down Tennessee Residency Requirement

Shanken News Daily: WSWA Eyes CBD Beverages, But Await TTB Guidance

VinePair: Pride and Politics: Gay Beer and Marketing ‘Authenticity’

Wine & Spirits Wholesalers of America: Statement on Supreme Court Ruling on Tennessee Wine & Spirits Retailers Association v. Blair

Alaska: How the Municipality Is Spending its Marijuana Money: Slowly but surely, more marijuana retail stores are sprouting up in Anchorage. A map on the municipality of Anchorage’s website shows nearly 30 shops open and operating across the municipality. The more cannabis sold, the more green the municipality sees from its 5% tax on marijuana retail sales.

Connecticut: Gov. Lamont to Sign Bill Allowing Craft Breweries to Sell More Beer: Governor Ned Lamont will sign a bill into law that lets craft breweries sell more beer. That legislation raises limits that had severely restricted sales in one of the state’s fastest-growing industries. While breweries have been able to serve their beer in taproom on the premises, there have been tight limits on how much of their beer they could let people walk out the door with.

Kansas: Old Town Bar Is Being Sued for Playing ‘Fat Bottomed Girls,’ Other Popular Songs: Wichita’s XY Bar is being sued for its song choices. Broadcast Music Inc. (BMI) on Thursday filed a lawsuit against the popular Old Town bar in federal court, alleging copyright infringement. The suit alleges that the bar at 235 N. Mosley played five songs that BMI owns the rights to, and that the bar had not paid for a public performance license.

Louisiana: 93 Baton Rouge Businesses Lose Liquor Licenses: Some 93 establishments in the Baton Rouge, La., area recently had their alcohol licenses revoked by the Alcoholic Beverage Control office, in the wake of a new ordinance mandating timely remittance of sales tax, Spencer Soicher writes. The licenses were pulled from businesses that were 90 days or more late on remittances, said Councilman Matt Watson of East Baton Rouge Parish District 11.

Massachusetts: State May Get Marijuana Delivery Services: Marijuana delivery services and possibly cannabis cafes are inching closer to reality in Massachusetts, reports the Boston Globe. The state’s Cannabis Control Commission has voted to approve draft regulations that would allow both business operations in the state but with significant restrictions.

New Jersey: Open Containers on A.C. Boardwalk Has Varied Support, Unlikely This Summer: The state Senate unanimously approved a bill last week that would allow alcohol to be consumed from open containers on the beach, Boardwalk and other designated areas within the Tourism District. With the state Legislature about to break for the summer and ongoing budget negotiations preoccupying lawmakers, the bill is unlikely to go into effect this year.

New Jersey: State Could Soon Crack Down on DWIs — Without Suspending More Drivers Licenses: More people who get caught driving drunk in New Jersey could soon be able to keep their drivers license but would be required to install a device in their car that would measure their sobriety. Judges have ordered people convicted more than once of driving while intoxicated or first offenders with a blood alcohol level of .15 or more to install ignition interlock devices in their cars since Ricci’s Law was enacted nine years ago.

New York: Legislature Passes Significant Changes to Liquor License Laws: The New York State Legislature has passed two bills in the waning days of the 2019 Legislative Session that will affect the liquor licensing process statewide. One bill would impose a posting requirement on applications for renewal. The other bill would require applicants to provide notice to certain entities.

For This Anheuser-Busch Heir, Trouble Followed: It was early in the morning of Nov. 13, 1983, when police discovered the broken body of a 22-year-old woman lying by the side of a road in Tucson, Arizona. Near Michele Frederick’s corpse was a smashed 1984 Corvette containing empty Bud Light cans, a .44-caliber Magnum revolver and a wallet with a Missouri driver’s license issued to August A. Busch IV.

Forget Bottles, Cans and Boxes: Kegged Wine Is What’s Next: When it comes to wine and where to drink it, Angelenos in 2019 are spoiled for choice. And inside Bar Bandini, on Sunset Boulevard in Echo Park, the scene at first blush may seem familiar: the twinkling bistro lights, the hip young clientele, the notice on the wall declaring “AVAILABLE FOR FILM SHOOTS.”

Thirst for Hard Seltzer Shows No Signs of Waning: Sales and popularity of hard seltzer are growing nationwide, with sales increasing around 169% last year to nearly $488 million, per Nielsen. Indiana Beverage Vice President Pat Flynn attributes the surge to consumers’ growing preference for low-calorie and gluten-free beverages, and the summery appeal of fruit infusions found in many seltzers appeals to drinkers.

Tequila Marketers Branch Out, Adding Flavored Offerings: While flavored Tequila hasn’t captured nearly the consumer attention of flavored vodka or flavored whiskies, there are a handful of brands now offering Tequilas with added flavoring. The majority are playing in the premium or super-premium tier and are 100% blue agave Tequilas.

Canned Cocktails That Aren’t Complete Trash: In recent years, it seems almost every craft brewery and distillery of note has decided that bottling beer and distilled spirits isn’t enough for them. They’ve seen the popularity of cocktail culture and decided that a canned “cocktail” is a good idea.

Millennials Have Sparked a Sober Revolution, and Alcohol Brands Are Starting to Notice: It’s everywhere you look these days: #SoberCurious, #SoberIs—y, #SoberLife and #SoberSaturday. There are sober nightclubs, sober early-morning dance parties, Instagram influencers who anchor their online identities with an eschewal of alcohol. The number of alcohol drinkers in the world has decreased by nearly 5 percent since 2000, according to the World Health Organization.

Corona Ditches Six-Pack Rings for Stackable Cans: Corona announced a new packaging design that ditches plastic six-pack rings for a more eco-friendly option: stackable, interlocking cans. The design earned an award at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity in France on Monday, Mexico News daily reports.

Beam Suntory Hires ‘President of Brands,’ Eliminates CMO Title: The Chicago liquor marketer is doing away with its chief marketing officer role in favor of a more powerful “president of brands” position that it will fill with Carlsberg executive Jessica Spence. Liquor marketer Beam Suntory is doing away with its chief marketing officer role in favor of a more powerful “president of brands” position that it will fill with Carlsberg executive Jessica Spence.

Will ‘Canna-Curious’ Adults Ever Ditch Alcohol?: As regulations loosen and cannabis products become more mainstream, the average consumer is learning how to differentiate between non-psychoactive CBD and hemp in food, beverage and lifestyle products, and the high-inducing THC. Keef Brands from Colorado was founded in 2010 and was one of the first companies to infuse soda with THC.

Buybacks: How a Sacred Bar Ritual Got Ruined: In the early aughts, Shelley Lermack, then a North Carolina resident visiting the Big Apple, wandered into the storied Chelsea Irish pub, Peter McManus Cafe. “We went during the day,” Lermack, who now lives in the West Village, tells The Post.

How to Bridge Generations in a Family Business: Family-owned businesses employ 60% of the U.S. workforce. But keeping a company in the family for multiple generations can provide unique management challenges. Forbes provides four strategies to bridge the generation gap and transition your company for the many generations to come.