A. In a local option district, a person qualified pursuant to the provisions of the Liquor Control Act [60-3A-1 NMSA 1978], except as otherwise provided in the Domestic Winery, Small Brewery and Craft Distillery Act, may apply for and be issued a small brewer's license.

B. A small brewer's license authorizes the person to whom it is issued to:

(1) manufacture or produce beer;

(2) package, label and export beer, whether manufactured, bottled or produced by the licensee or any other person;

(3) sell only beer that is packaged by or for the licensee to a person holding a wholesaler's license or a small brewer's license;

(4) deal in warehouse receipts for beer;

(5) conduct beer tastings and sell for consumption on or off premises, but not for resale, beer produced and bottled by, or produced and packaged for, the licensee, beer produced and bottled by or for another New Mexico small brewer on the small brewer's premises or wine or cider produced by a winegrower pursuant to Section 60-6A-11 NMSA 1978;

(6) be deemed a manufacturer for purposes of the Gross Receipts and Compensating Tax Act [Chapter 7, Article 9 NMSA 1978];

(7) at public celebrations off the small brewer's premises, after the small brewer has paid the applicable fee for a small brewer's public celebration permit, conduct tastings and sell by the glass or in unbroken packages, but not for resale, beer produced and bottled by or for the small brewer or wine or cider produced by a winegrower pursuant to Section 60-6A-11 NMSA 1978;

(8) at private celebrations on or off the small brewer's premises after the small brewer has paid the applicable fees for a private celebration permit, sell by the glass, beer produced and bottled by or for the small brewer or wine or cider produced by a winegrower pursuant to Section 60-6A-11 NMSA 1978;

(9) buy or otherwise obtain wine or cider from a winegrower;

(10) for the purposes described in this subsection, at no more than three other locations off the small brewer's premises, after the small brewer has paid the applicable fee for a small brewer's off-premises permit, after the director has determined that the off-premises locations meet the requirements of the Liquor Control Act and department rules for new liquor license locations and after the director has issued a small brewer's off-premises permit for each off-premises location, conduct beer tastings and sell by the glass or in unbroken packages for consumption off the small brewer's off-premises location, but not for resale, beer produced and bottled by or for the small brewer, beer produced and bottled by or for another New Mexico small brewer or wine or cider produced by a winegrower pursuant to Section 60-6A-11 NMSA 1978;

(11) allow members of the public, on the licensed premises and under the direct supervision of the licensee, to manufacture beer for personal consumption and not for resale using the licensee's equipment and ingredients; and

(12) sell beer in a growler for consumption off premises.

C. Renewal of a small brewer's license shall be conditioned upon submission to the department by the licensee of a report showing proof that:

(1) no less than fifty percent of the gross receipts from the sale of beer for the preceding twelve months of the licensee's operation are derived from the sale of beer produced by the licensee; or

(2) the licensee manufactures no less than fifty barrels of beer per license year at the licensee's premises.

D. At public and private celebrations on or off the small brewer's premises in a local option district permitting the sale of alcoholic beverages, the holder of a small brewer's license shall pay ten dollars ($10.00) to the alcohol and gaming division of the regulation and licensing department for a "small brewer's public celebration permit" or a "small brewer's private celebration permit" to be issued under rules adopted by the director. Upon request, the alcohol and gaming division of the regulation and licensing department may issue to a holder of a small brewer's license a public celebration permit for a location at the public celebration that is to be shared with other small brewers and winegrowers.

E. Sales and tastings of beer, wine or cider authorized in this section shall be permitted during the hours set forth in Subsection A of Section 60-7A-1 NMSA 1978 and between the hours of 11:00 a.m. and midnight on Sunday and shall conform to the limitations regarding Christmas and voting-day sales found in Section 60-7A-1 NMSA 1978 and the expansion of Sunday sales hours to 2:00 a.m. on January 1, when December 31 falls on a Sunday.

F. As used in this section:

(1) "private celebration" means any celebratory activity that is held in a private or public venue not open to the general public and for which attendance is subject to private invitation; and

(2) "public celebration" includes any state or county fair, community fiesta, cultural or artistic event, sporting competition of a seasonal nature or activities held on an intermittent basis.

History: 1978 Comp., § 60-6A-26.1, enacted by Laws 1985, ch. 217, § 5; 1993, ch. 68, § 9; 1997, ch. 229, § 1; 1998, ch. 111, § 1; 1999, ch. 160, § 1; 2001, ch. 248, § 2; 2001, ch. 260, § 2; 2015, ch. 102, § 5; 2015, ch. 124, § 2; 2019, ch. 229, § 6.

Repeals. — Laws 2015, ch. 102, § 10 and Laws 2015, ch. 124, § 3 repealed Laws 2001, ch. 248, § 2, effective July 1, 2015.

The 2019 amendment, effective July 1, 2019, provided for private celebration small brewer's permits, included cider in the provisions of this section, provided additional requirements for the renewal of a small brewer's license, and expanded the hours for sales and tastings of beer, wine or cider; in Subsection B, added a new Paragraph B(8) and redesignated former Paragraphs B(8) through B(11) as Paragraphs B(9) through B(12), respectively; added a new Subsection C and redesignated former Subsections C and D as Subsections D and E, respectively; in Subsection D, after "At public", added "or private", after "celebration permit'", added "or a 'small brewer's private celebration permit'", and deleted "As used in this subsection, 'public celebration' includes a state or county fair, community fiesta, cultural or artistic event, sporting competition of a seasonal nature or activities held on an intermittent basis."; in Subsection E, after "between the hours of", deleted "noon" and added "11:00 a.m."; and added Subsection F.

2015 Multiple Amendments. — Laws 2015, ch. 124, § 2, effective July 1, 2015, in Subsection A, after "Domestic Winery", deleted "and", and after "Small Brewery", added "and Craft Distillery"; in Subsection B, Paragraph (2), after "bottled or produced by", deleted "him" and added "the licensee"; in Paragraph (3), after "packaged by or for", deleted "him" and added "the licensee"; in Paragraph (5), after "the licensee", deleted "or" and added "beer", and after "small brewer's premises", added "or wine produced by a winegrower pursuant to Section 60-6A-11 NMSA 1978"; in Paragraph (7), after the second occurrence of "small brewer", added "or wine produced by a winegrower pursuant to Section 60-6A-11 NMSA 1978"; added new Paragraph (8) and redesignated the succeeding paragraphs accordingly; and in Paragraph (9), added "for the purposes described in this subsection", after "at no more than", deleted "two" and added "three", after "bottled by or for the small brewer", deleted "or", and after "bottled by or for another New Mexico small brewer", added "or wine produced by a winegrower pursuant to Section 60-6A-11 NMSA 1978".

Laws 2015, ch. 102, § 5, effective July 1, 2015, in Subsection A, after "In", deleted "any", after "a person qualified", deleted "under" and added "pursuant to", after "Domestic Winery", deleted "and", and after "Small Brewery", added "and Craft Distillery"; in Subsection B, in Paragraph (1), deleted "become a manufacturer or producer of" and added "manufacture or produce"; in Paragraph (2), after "produced by", deleted "him" and added "the licensee"; in Paragraph (3), after "packaged by or for", deleted "him" and added "the licensee"; in Paragraph (8), after "no more than", deleted "two" and added "three", after "small brewer", deleted "and"; in Paragraph (9), after "ingredients", added "and"; added Paragraph (10); and in Subsection C, after "off the small brewer's premises in", deleted "any" and added "a", and after "'public celebration' includes", deleted "any" and added "a".

The 2001 amendment, effective July 1, 2001, in Subsection B, inserted "or produced and bottled by or for another New Mexico small brewer" in Paragraph (5), inserted "or beer produced and bottled by or for another New Mexico small brewer; and" in Paragraph (8), deleted Paragraph (10), giving a licensed brewer the ability to apply for a permit to join other licensed brewers to sell beer produced at a common facility; added Subsection C and renumbered former Subsection C as D.

The 1999 amendment, effective July 1, 1999, added Subsection B(10).

The 1998 amendment, effective March 10, 1998, deleted "and" at the end of Paragraph B(6) and added Paragraphs B(8) and (9).

The 1997 amendment, effective April 11, 1997, deleted "do any of the following" at the end of the introductory paragraph of Subsection B, added Paragraphs B(7) through B(9), added Subsection C, and made minor stylistic changes.

The 1993 amendment, effective July 1, 1993, inserted "bottled" in Paragraph (2) of Subsection B.