(a) No brand or brands of malt or brewed beverages shall be offered, sold or delivered to any trade buyer within this Commonwealth unless the manufacturer thereof shall first submit an application in the form and manner prescribed by the board for the registration of the said brand or brands of malt beverages, together with an annual filing fee not to exceed seventy-five dollars ($75) for each brand registration requested as set forth in section 614-A(35) of the act of April 9, 1929 (P.L. 177, No. 175),¹ known as “The Administrative Code of 1929.” Notwithstanding section 614-A(35) of that act, up to twenty brands may be registered for a single annual fee of one hundred fifty dollars ($150.00), so long as one hundred barrels or less of each brand is produced on an annual basis. Any brand or brands of malt or brewed beverages that are produced by a manufacturer but not offered for sale because of additional aging of the beverages shall only be registered at the time the brand or brands are offered for sale. In the event an out-of-State or foreign manufacturer of malt or brewed beverages has granted franchise rights to any person for the sale and distribution of its brand products but which person is not licensed to sell and distribute the same in this Commonwealth, said such person shall nevertheless be required to register the involved brand before offering the same for sale in Pennsylvania. It is further conditioned that the person holding such franchise rights shall, together with its application for brand registration, file with the board copies of all agreements between it and the Pennsylvania importing distributor appointed by such person to sell and distribute the brands of malt or brewed beverages as provided by sections 431 and 492.² Such agreement shall contain the manufacturer's consent and approval to the appointment of the Pennsylvania importing distributor and the rights conferred thereunder.

(b) The board shall employ a malt beverage compliance officer whose duties shall include reviewing label registration to ensure compliance with this act and investigating reports of unregistered brands of malt or brewed beverages being sold by licensees and reports of worthless checks and any other duties the board shall assign the officer. If the malt beverage compliance officer finds that a licensee is selling malt or brewed beverages that are unregistered in this Commonwealth, he shall give the manufacturer of the malt or brewed beverages written notice that the manufacturer has ten days to register the malt or brewed beverages with the board. During that ten-day period in which the manufacturer has to come into compliance with brand registration, the unregistered malt or brewed beverages shall remain on the licensee's premises but may not be sold. Should the manufacturer fail to register the malt or brewed beverages with the board within ten days, the manufacturer shall be required to remove the unregistered malt or brewed beverages from the licensee's premises and reimburse the licensee for all unregistered products that cannot be sold in this Commonwealth. If a malt beverage compliance officer receives notification that a licensee issued a worthless check, the officer shall give the licensee written notice that the licensee has ten days from the date the notice was mailed to honor that check. Should the licensee fail to honor the check within ten days from the date the notice was mailed, the matter shall be turned over to the enforcement bureau for citation.

(c) Any person selling malt or brewed beverages at wholesale, and any person selling at retail malt or brewed beverages that were not sold at wholesale, shall report to the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board the volume of such packaged and draft malt or brewed beverages sold. The report, in the form and manner determined by the board, shall be made for each calendar month no later than sixty days after the end of each calendar month and shall show product volumes, broken down by brewer. All volumes shall be reported in thirty-one-gallon barrel equivalents, regardless of package size. The board shall, within fourteen days of the receipt of the report, place the reports on the Internet in a manner accessible to the general public. The board shall maintain the reports on the Internet in a manner accessible to the general public for a period of at least two years and shall archive the reports for a period of at least ten years.

(d) The label, product packaging and marketing materials for alcoholic cider, fermented fruit beverage and mead that are used in connection with the sale and distribution of alcoholic cider, fermented fruit beverage and mead may refer to the product as “wine-based,” a “wine product” or in a similar manner or by a similar name with the product still treated as a malt or brewed beverage provided that the product is registered with the board as a malt or brewed beverage as provided under this section. No product that was sold in any Pennsylvania Liquor Store after January 1, 2018, may be designated as a malt or brewed beverage.