MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Miller, Coors and other popular beers may disappear from the Minnesota shops and bars in the days since the brewing giant Miller Coors lack proper licenses due to State Government shutdown.
Miller Coors has 39 "brand tag registrations" with the State which expired last month, and the employees who process renewals were made redundant when the Government shut down July 1, in a budget dispute, Doug Neville, spokesman for the Department of public safety, said Wednesday.
State alcohol officials remain at work recently told officials with the Chicago-based Miller Coors LLC that they need to come up with a plan soon to draw its products, "he said.
"I think we're looking at days instead of weeks before any action needs to be taken, but I don't have an exact date," said Neville.
Miller Coors spokesman Julian Green said brewer still hope to resolve the dispute through discussion with State alcohol regulators, but does not rule out legal action.
"With 39 brands are at stake in one of our largest markets in the country, during one of the highest selling periods in the summer, we are not our business to ensure accurate state licenses," Green said. -Particularly when it affects the livelihoods of our distributors and retailers, and ultimately affect our customers that cannot buy our trademarks.
The trade marks concerned include not only Miller and Coors lines, but a long list of regional and craft beer Leinenkugel and Blue Moon and Pilsner Urquel imports and Molson.
The same problem can affect other brewers, wineries and distillers sometime, "said Neville. And there are hundreds of bars, restaurants and liquor shops over State run probably in a similar renewal requirements that begin leave them unable to replenish their supplies as the hottest part of the year approaches.
Minnesota requires that brewing, wineries and distillers take out brand tag registrations for products they sell in the State. They cost only $ 30 and are good for three years. Miller Coors ' registrations expired on 13 June.
Green said Miller Coors in its paperwork and check on time, on the 13th. Neville said the State did not receive them until June 15, two days after the publication of registrations expired.
If it was the 13th or 15th may not have underscored since the control was for $ 1,688,706, $ 210 overpayment, said Green. Delayed the process. The State received a second check for the correct amount on June 27, he said.
But at that time, Neville said, employees in the Department's alcohol enforcement division does not have the time to process renewals before they were made redundant. In addition to this, he said, the database in which they use to process the renewals were taken offline, along with some other systems as the Department's skeleton IT personnel can concentrate on keeping more critical system relied upon by law enforcement agencies.
Companies with closure disputes can go to the courts of the State, which has established a process for handling of pleas for help that is supervised by the Ramsey County Chief Judge Kathleen in and a designated special master, former State Supreme Court Chief Justice Kathleen Blatz.
That is what many retailers have already done. They are obliged to have 20 dollar "buying" card to buy liquor from wholesalers, and they must be renewed every year by the same laid-off employees who process trade mark registrations. Hundreds of them has expired or will soon. So did retailers before Blatz on Tuesday to ask for an order to recall some employees to process renewals. A decision is pending.
Green said Miller Coors wants to reach a solution through discussions of legal action.
"Now we are still selling beer in the State, but we hope we can bring this matter to a resolution because there are a number of Minnesota businesses are at stake. In this environment, we do not want to see these companies that negatively impacted. "
It is not about discussions could solve the problem, however. Neville said alcohol control officials determined they just were not able to look the other way and let the Miller Coors do business as usual.
"Our enforcement agents looked closely at the Charter and there is nothing there that allows us to make special arrangements with anyone," said Neville.
Neville, did not know which other producers besides Miller Coors, the country's no 2 brewer, is affected, but said the St. Louis, MO.-based Anheuser-Busch Cos. Inc., the largest U.S. beer maker, is certainly at least until 1 October. "Our agents, I know, look at other brands," he said.
The potential loss of popular Miller Coors beer comes as another blow to the liquor store, restaurant and bar owners who thought things couldn't get any worse, "says Frank Ball, Executive Director of the Association Minnesota licensed beverage.
"It could be 102 ° this weekend," said ball. "We need cold beer."
0 comments:
Post a Comment