The Elizabeth farmers market
Yilian Quinones shops for tomatoes at the Elizabeth Farmers Market sponsored by the Elizabeth Avenue Partnership at Union Square Plaza in Elizabeth, NJ
(Ed Murray | NJ Advance Media)
TRENTON — Would you like some ale with your kale?
State Senate Minority Leader Tom Kean Jr. (R-Union) and Assemblyman Craig Coughlin (D-Middlesex) this month introduced legislation that would allow small breweries to sell beer at farmers markets.
"With warm-weather seasons upon us, this legislation provides countless and timely opportunities to help grow the state's agriculture and tourism economies," said Kean said in a statement. "It will draw more people to our attractions and eliminate prohibitions that limit how local breweries can develop and expand."
Under the bill (S2910), brewers with limited or restricted licenses — which allow them to brew up to 30,000 or 10,000 barrels of beer, respectively — could apply for annual permits to sell at the markets, which would cost them $75 per year.
Customers would not be able to actually drink the beer at the farmers market, and the legislation would not supersede local ordinances that ban the sale of alcohol.
According to the bill, at least three states — California, Maryland, and Washington — allow the sale of beer at farmers markets.
Kean and Coughlin introduced two other beer-friendly measures as well. They would allow brew pubs to sell a total of up to 1,000 barrels of beer to retailers each year (S2912) and allow customers who tour and sample beer at microbreweries to eat food on the premises (S2911).
To become law, the bills must pass both the state Senate and Assembly before reaching Gov. Chris Christie's desk. Senate President Stephen Sweeney said he has not yet read the legislation.