The Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (“TTB”) released Industry Circular 2024-2 on December 5, 2024, which provides an expanded list of beer ingredients exempt from formula approval requirements. The new Circular added 24 additional ingredients that brewers can use in their beers without needing to obtain a formula from the TTB.
Generally speaking, brewers planning to use unconventional ingredients or methods in their products must secure formula approval beforehand. This can include when “any fruit, fruit juice, fruit concentrate, herbs, spices, honey, maple syrup, or other food materials” are added to the production of beer per 27 CFR 25.55(a)(4). The agency can exempt “a particular coloring, flavoring, or food material” from the formulation requirement if TTB finds that such ingredients are “a traditional ingredient” used in the production of fermented beverages classified as beer, ale, porter, stout, lager, or malt liquor. 27 CFR 25.55(f).
Through its original Industry Circular 2015-1, the TTB exempted approximately 50 ingredients from the requirement for beer formula approval. Industry Circular 2024-2 adds 24 additional exempt ingredients to the original list.In Attachment 1 of Industry Circular 2015-1, the following 24 ingredients have been added per Industry Circular 2024-2:
Almonds (does not include extracts, essential oils, or syrups);Bananas (whole juice, puree, or concentrate; does not include extracts, essential oils, or syrups);Beets (whole juice, puree, or concentrate; does not include extracts, essential oils, or syrups);Cantaloupe (whole juice, puree, or concentrate; does not include extracts, essential oils, or syrups);Carrots (whole juice, puree, or concentrate; does not include extracts, essential oils, or syrups);Cucumbers (whole juice, puree, or concentrate; does not include extracts, essential oils, or syrups);Dandelion leaves / dandelion greens (whole juice, puree, or concentrate; does not include extracts, essential oils, or syrups);Dill (whole juice, puree, or concentrate; does not include extracts, essential oils, or syrups);Dragonfruit (whole juice, puree, or concentrate; does not include extracts, essential oils, or syrups);Elderberries (whole juice, puree, or concentrate; does not include extracts, essential oils, or syrups);Guava (whole juice, puree, or concentrate; does not include extracts, essential oils, or syrups);Hazelnuts (does not include extracts, essential oils, or syrups);Lavender (includes both lavender and spike lavender. Whole juice, puree, or concentrate; does not include extracts, essential oils, or syrups);Lychee fruit (whole juice, puree, or concentrate; does not include extracts, essential oils, or syrups);Papaya (whole juice, puree, or concentrate; does not include extracts, essential oils, or syrups);Peanuts (does not include extracts, essential oils, or syrups);Pecans (does not include extracts, essential oils, or syrups);Pistachios (does not include extracts, essential oils, or syrups);Prickly pear fruit (whole juice, puree, or concentrate; does not include extracts, essential oils, or syrups);Rhubarb (whole juice, puree, or concentrate of rhubarb stalks or stems; does not include extracts, essential oils, or syrups);Rose hips (whole juice, puree, or concentrate; does not include extracts, essential oils, or syrups);Spruce (includes tips, needles, and twigs of the species Picea glauca (Moench) Voss or P. mariana (Mill.) BSP per 21 CFR 172.510);Tea (review Attachment 1 for further clarifications and restrictions; the 2024-2 Circular expanded Tea to include Earl Grey under certain conditions); andWalnuts (does not include extracts, essential oils, or syrups)Note: Some of the above ingredients are further qualified by Attachment 1. For more information on beer or alcohol law, please contact our firm at
info@zahnlawpc.com.
DISCLAIMER: This blog post is for general information purposes only, is not intended to constitute legal advice, and no attorney-client relationship results. Please consult your own attorney for legal advice
