Lawyers for 10 Barrel Brewing Idaho LLC, an offshoot of the Bend-based brewery and now property of Anheuser-Busch, say the Boise brewery and brewpub would close if Idaho distributors prevail in their legal challenge to the brewer’s licenses there.

The Idaho Beer and Wine Distributors Association on Dec. 5 objected to big brewing companies such as Anheuser-Busch possibly benefiting from a state incentive meant for craft brewers. The association asked the Idaho Alcohol Beverage Control bureau to stay its award of a final license to 10 Barrel Brewing Idaho while the bureau hears the petition.

The Idaho ABC, an arm of the state police, on Jan. 6 agreed to hear arguments from the 10 Barrel attorneys as part of the distributors’ case. No schedule is set, according to state police spokeswoman Teresa Baker. The bureau granted 10 Barrel Idaho new, temporary licenses to operate its brewery and pub after 10 Barrel’s sale to Anheuser-Busch.

Idaho law created a three-tiered system that keeps brewers, distributors and retailers separate financially; none may hold a stake in any of the others. However, 10 Barrel Idaho holds a license that exempts small brewers — those that produce less than 30,000 barrels annually — from that law and allows them to brew beer and sell it directly to consumers at a brewpub.

The distributors’ petition, written by Boise attorney Jason Risch, asks the ABC to apply the 30,000-barrel limit not just to beer brewed in Idaho, but anywhere the license holder brews beer.

Doing so would end 10 Barrel Idaho’s brewing operation and close the Boise pub, which opened in April 2013, wrote lawyers for the brewery in a petition filed Dec. 10 with the ABC. 10 Barrel Brewing Idaho brews “significantly less” than 30,000 barrels a year, they wrote. On the other hand, Anheuser-Busch shipped 96.5 million barrels of beer in 2013, according to BeerInsight.com.

The small-brewer exemption was meant to foster growth of craft brewing in the state by reducing costs, the distributors argue. The exemption allows small brewers to sell beer directly to consumers at a brewpub but also to obtain a license to wholesale their product to retailers.

Allowing a company such as Anheuser-Busch a wholesalers license would undermine Idaho’s three-tier system, Risch wrote. Risch is a law partner with Jeremy Pisca, executive director of the distributors association.

Lawyers for 10 Barrel in Idaho, Susan Jones and W. Christopher Pooser, in their response wrote: “10 Barrel Idaho, however, is not licensed as a wholesaler under Idaho Code … and does not intend to seek wholesaler licensing.”

— Reporter: 541-617-7815, 
jditzler@bendbulletin.com