(a) Label requirements. Each bottle of beer shall show by label or otherwise the name or trade name of the brewer, the net contents of the bottle, the nature of the product such as beer, ale, porter, stout, etc., and the place of production (city and, when necessary for identification, State). No statement as to payment of internal revenue taxes may be shown.
(b) Breweries of same ownership.
(1) If two or more breweries are owned or operated by the same person, firm, or corporation (as defined in § 25.181), the place of production:
(i) May be shown as the only location on the label;
(ii) May be included in a listing of the locations of breweries qualified under this part if the place of production is not given less emphasis than any of the other locations; or
(iii) Need not be shown if the brewer's principal place of business is shown in lieu of any other location. The brewer's principal place of business will be the location of a brewery operated by the brewer and qualified under this part.
(2) If the location of two or more breweries is shown on the label (paragraph (b)(1)(ii)), or if the brewer's principal place of business is shown on the label in lieu of the actual place of production (paragraph (b)(1)(iii)), the brewer shall indicate the actual place of production by printing, coding or other markings on the label, bottle, crown or lid. The coding system employed will permit an appropriate TTB officer to determine the place of production (including street address if two or more breweries are located in the same city) of the beer. The brewer must notify the appropriate TTB offcer prior to employing a coding system.
(c) Distinctive names. If the brewer's name, trade name or brand name includes the name of a city which is not the place where the beer was produced, the appropriate TTB officer may require the brewer to state the actual place of production on the label.
(d) Tolerances. The statement of net contents shall indicate exactly the volume of beer within the bottle except for variations in measuring as may occur in filling conducted in compliance with good commercial practice. The barrel equivalent of bottles filled during a consecutive three month period, calculated on the basis of the brewer's fill test records, may not vary more than 0.5 percent from the barrel equivalent of bottles filled during the same period, calculated on the basis of the stated net contents of the bottles. The brewer is liable for the tax on the entire amount of beer removed, without benefit of tolerance, when the fill of bottles and cans exceeds the tolerance for the three month period, or when filling is not conducted in compliance with good commercial practice.
(e) Label approval required. Labels used by brewers shall be covered by certificates of label approval, Form 5100.31, when required by part 7 of this chapter.
(f) Short-fill bottles. A brewer may dispose of taxpaid short-fill bottles of beer to employees for their use but not for resale. These bottles need not be labeled, but if labeled they need not show an accurate statement of net contents.
(Approved by the Office of Management and Budget under control number 1512-0474)
[T.D. ATF-224, 51 FR 7673, Mar. 5, 1986, as amended by T.D. ATF-225, 51 FR 8492, Mar. 12, 1986; T.D. ATF-437, 66 FR 5479, Jan. 19, 2001]