What are the requirements for Beer labeling and advertising?
Brewers must follow the beer labeling and advertising requirements found at 27 CFR Part 7, Labeling and Advertising of Malt Beverages at 27 CFR Part 16, and Alcoholic Beverage Health Warning Statement. Brewers also must follow the formulation requirements found at 27 CFR Part 25 (specifically, 27 CFR 25.55 – 25.58).
What information is on a beer bottle label?
Brand name The most prominent information is featured on your beer bottle label. It’s the name you market your beverages under. Your brand name cannot describe the age, identity, origin, or other characteristics of your beverages. 2. Country of origin
Do you need alcohol content on your product labels?
You can include alcohol content on your labels, but it’s not required. However, on flavored products that extract alcohol from added flavors, federal laws require alcohol content on the labels. Make sure to check your state regulations as many states have their own specific labeling requirements. 6. Name & address
What to look for in a malt beverage label?
Draft or Draught 9. Disclosures for Specific Ingredients 10. Lite/Light/Low Carb 1. Brand Name The brand name must appear on the label to clearly identify the malt beverage in the market. Basically, this is the official name under which the beverage is marketed.
What is the first piece of information on a beer label?
The first piece of information that any beer label should have is a brand name. This piece of information is typically the most prominent piece of information on your label and should reflect the name that you use to market your beer.
How many elements are on a beer label?
There are eight key elements that must be included on any beer label. Some of these elements are mandatory for every malt beverage, while others may apply to only certain situations. These elements are:
What is a TTB label?
Your beer labels need to not only capture the quality and personality of your products, but also meet any mandatory Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) label requirements. These requirements play a pivotal role in TTB labeling approval before your product can be sold to consumers.
What does a beer label mean?
Every beer label needs to clearly display the specific identity of what’s contained in the can or bottle. Simply put, it needs to tell consumers what type of malt beverage you made. These designations are based on characteristics generally attributed to the particular class or type of malt beverage.
Does beer have a health warning?
Every beer label should include a health warning statement if the malt beverage in question contains at least 0.5 percent alcohol by volume. The statement in question must appear as a continuous paragraph and start with the words “GOVERNMENT WARNING” in bold, capital letters. The statement in full should appear as follows.
Is a malt beverage brand name misleading?
In addition, your brand name must not be misleading. By TTB standards, that means that your brand name should describe “the age, origin, identity, or other characteristics of the malt beverage.” There are a few exceptions to this rule:
Where should an alcohol label be placed?
Unlike other label elements, the alcohol statement can be placed on the front, back, or side of your container. The entirety of your alcohol statement should be in prominent coloring and use the same kind and size of lettering. The type size also depends on the net contents of your container.
What is labeling with organic claims?
Labels with Organic Claims – Details on the standards for the production, handling, processing, labeling, and marketing of products labeled with organic claims.
What is TTB labeling?
Alcohol Labeling Fact Methods – TTB periodically reviews labeling and advertising claims by taking samples of alcohol beverage products for validation purposes. This web page provides details on this process
What is a COLA registry?
Public COLA Registry Search – This internet application allows you to search for existing Certificate of label Approvals (COLAs). This is the public module of the COLAs Online System that requires no username or password. Per FOIA requirements, It contains details of Approved, Expired, Surrendered or Revoked COLAs for viewing by the general public. A robust search function is available as well.
Do you need to approve a spirit before you can put it on your label?
Alcohol Bever age Formula Approval Your distilled spirit may require formula approval or laboratory sample analysis before you may submit your labels. Check if your beverage requires formula approval or lab analysis.
Can you change labels without a COLA?
Allowable Changes to Approved Labels – You can make certain changes to your labels without obtaining a new COLA. If you are considering making changes to previously approved labels, please review the complete list of allowable revisions—you may not need to send us the revised labels at all!
Required Information
Your beer labels must contain a series of information required by law:
Non-Mandatory Information
Within the non-mandatory information to be included in your beer label, there are various informative or purely aesthetic elements to consider.
What is the address of a beer label?
Optionally, it can be preceded by an explanatory phrase such as “BREWED BY”, “BOTTLED BY,” or “BREWED AND BOTTLED BY.” The address must be the city and state were the beer is bottled or packed.
Why do you need to put the brand name on a malt label?
The brand name must appear on the label to clearly identify the malt beverage in the market. Basically, this is the official name under which the beverage is marketed. In many cases, the brand name appears visually in the form of a logo or wordmark. Here are some specifics.
What is malt beverage?
The TTB uses “malt beverage” as the general name for all products made at a brewery with malted barley and hops. This includes products like beer, ale, lager as well as flavored malt beverages. TTB’s Beverage Alcohol Manual is very detailed in defining all acceptable classes and types. Below is a chart showing the acceptable terms you can use.
What is the common mistake in labeling?
Another common mistake is using a super stylized font for the class and type designation that makes it difficult to read. Avoid any crazy fonts for the mandatory info; these could get your label application rejected for not being legible enough. It needs to clearly communicate there is a malt beverage in the container.
How tall is the alcohol statement?
Another common mistake is not measuring the font size correctly for the alcohol statement. This statement needs to be 2mm tall on containers greater than 8 fl. oz. The special characters contained in the statement — the percent symbol and backslash — always throw designers off when measuring. One tip is to always use the capital letter “L” and measure from flat edge of the bottom to the flat edge of the top of this letter. Additionally, don’t include the percent symbol or backslash in your measurements, since these characters often fall above and/or below the other letters, depending on the font.
What does IPA stand for in beer?
Breweries often prefer to use the abbreviation “IPA” large on the front but if you look carefully, you’ll noticed they’ve also included it spelled out as “India Pale Ale” in the minimum font size to satisfy this requirement, or at the very least they’ve included “Ale” or “Beer.”
Do you need to state the country of origin of malt?
A statement of origin is required under U.S. Customs regulations for any imported malt beverage for sale in the U.S. Therefore, if your malt beverage was made in the U.S. for sale in the U.S., the country of origin does not need to be indicated although it may be included.
How long does it take to review beer labels?
Don’t put off reviewing beer labeling regulations to the last minute! The TTB is allowed up to 90 days to review your labels and while it doesn’t always take that long, it’s a good framework for planning your label production and brewing timeline.
What is the TTB on beer labels?
The Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (better known as the “TTB”) is the federal agency that oversees beer labeling regulations and approves beer packaging. The TTB specifies what you can and can’t put on your beer labels which include the label artwork, text size, ...
What is malt beer?
In chapter 4, malt beverages are defined as alcohol or alcohol-free beverages made by the alcoholic fermentation of an infusion or decoction, or combination of both, in potable brewing water, of: malted barley comprising not less than 25% by weight of the total weight of fermentable ingredients.
What is TTB F 5100.31?
The TTB F 5100.31 application form is for a certificate of label approval, certificate of exemption from label approval, distinctive liquor bottle approval, or resubmission after rejection. The TTB F 5013.2 form is one of two ways to request a COLA (Certificate of Label Approval) online account from the TTB. You can also apply for a COLA account through the TTB website.
How to apply for a COLA label?
COLA Online allows you to apply for a Certificate of Label Approval/Exemption for your product. Once you’re registered, simply follow the instructions for submitting your online application. In most cases, once your application is submitted electronically, you’re done. Best of all, there’s is no fee to apply or forms to sign.
Is there a legal requirement to include ingredients in a beer label?
There currently is no legal requirement to include this information, however, it may win you some points with customers. Visit the Beer Institute’s website to learn more about the Voluntary Disclosure Initiate.
Is malt beer a class?
other wholesome products suitable for human food consumption. Malt beverages are divided by class and then further classified by type. For example, “ale” is considered a class and “amber ale” is a type.
Brand Name
Class and Type Designation
- Every beer label needs to clearly display the specific identity of what’s contained in the can or bottle. Simply put, it needs to tell consumers what type of malt beverage you made. These designations are based on characteristics generally attributed to the particular class or type of malt beverage. These designations can range from something as general as “malt beverage” to …
Name and Address of Producer/Bottler Or Packer
- The TTB mandates that every malt beverage label includes both the name and address of the entity that produces, bottles, packs, or imports your products. Domestic malt beverages may include an appropriate explanatory phrase before the name, while imported products must add some more detail). These can include the following: 1. For domestic brewers (optional) 1.1. “BR…
Net Contents
- While there are no standards of fill for malt beverages, the TTB does have requirements for the way you list net contents. Every container must list net contents in American measurements, but you may also include metric measurements as well. The TTB also has specific standards for how these measurements are presented. 1. Containers with less than 1 pint – the net contents must …
Alcohol Content
- Unlike many of the other elements, statements of alcohol content are optional unless your state’s law either mandates or prohibits this action. Whether these statements are required or added optionally, the TTB does set specific standards for how alcohol content is presented. Unless your state’s laws set a different standard, statement of alcohol should be expressed in percent by vol…
Disclosures For Specific Ingredients
- Beer labels can require disclosures for certain ingredients if they appear in your malt beverage. Each ingredient requires a separate statement to make its presence clear to any consumers. These are the four different ingredients and their required statements: 1. FD&C Yellow No. 5 – “Contains FD&C Yellow #5” 2. Saccharin – “Use of this product may be hazardous to your health…
Health Warning Statement
- Every beer label should include a health warning statement if the malt beverage in question contains at least 0.5 percent alcohol by volume. The statement in question must appear as a continuous paragraph and start with the words “GOVERNMENT WARNING” in bold, capital letters. The statement in full should appear as follows. 1. GOVERNMENT WARNING:(1) According to th…
Country of Origin
- If your malt beverage is imported, your label must include some form of statement indicating its country of origin. There are four formats you can use for this statement: 1. “PRODUCT/PRODUCE OF [name of country]” 2. “PRODUCED/BREWED IN” or “PRODUCED/BREWED AND BOTTLED OR PACKED IN [name of country]” 3. “PRODUCED/BREWED BY” or “PRODUCED/BREWED AND BOTT…