§ 7.24 - Certificates of label approval (COLAs) for malt beverages imported in containers.

§ 7.24 Class and type.

(a) The class of the malt beverage shall be stated and, if desired, the type thereof may be stated. Statements of class and type shall conform to the designation of the product as known to the trade. If the product is not known to the trade under a particular designation, a distinctive or fanciful name, together with an adequate and truthful statement of the composition of the product, shall be stated, and such statement shall be deemed to be a statement of class and type for the purposes of this part.

(b) Malt beverages which have been concentrated by the removal of water therefrom and reconstituted by the addition of water and carbon dioxide shall for the purpose of this part be labeled in the same manner as malt beverages which have not been concentrated and reconstituted, except that there shall appear in direct conjunction with, and as a part of, the class designation the statement “PRODUCED FROM ____ CONCENTRATE” (the blank to be filled in with the appropriate class designation). All parts of the class designation shall appear in lettering of substantially the same size and kind.

(c) No product shall be designated as “half and half” unless it is in fact composed of equal parts of two classes of malt beverages the names of which are conspicuously stated in conjunction with the designation “half and half”.

(d) Products containing less than one-half of 1 percent (.5%) of alcohol by volume shall bear the class designation “malt beverage,” or “cereal beverage,” or “near beer.” If the designation “near beer” is used, both words must appear in the same size and style of type, in the same color of ink, and on the same background. No product containing less than one-half of 1 percent of alcohol by volume shall bear the class designations “beer”, “lager beer”, “lager”, “ale”, “porter”, or “stout”, or any other class or type designation commonly applied to malt beverages containing one-half of 1 percent or more of alcohol by volume.

(e) No product other than a malt beverage fermented at comparatively high temperature, possessing the characteristics generally attributed to “ale,” “porter,” or “stout” and produced without the use of coloring or flavoring materials (other than those recognized in standard brewing practices) shall bear any of these class designations.

(f) Geographical names for distinctive types of malt beverages (other than names found under paragraph (g) of this section to have become generic) shall not be applied to malt beverages produced in any place other than the particular region indicated by the name unless

(1) in direct conjunction with the name there appears the word “type” or the word “American”, or some other statement indicating the true place of production in lettering substantially as conspicuous as such name, and

(2) the malt beverages to which the name is applied conform to the type so designated. The following are examples of distinctive types of beer with geographical names that have not become generic; Dortmund, Dortmunder, Vienna, Wien, Wiener, Bavarian, Munich, Munchner, Salvator, Kulmbacher, Wurtzburger, Pilsen (Pilsener and Pilsner): Provided, That notwithstanding the foregoing provisions of this section, beer which is produced in the United States may be designated as “Pilsen,” “Pilsener,” or “Pilsner” without further modification, if it conforms to such type.

(g) Only such geographical names for distinctive types of malt beverages as the appropriate TTB officer finds have by usage and common knowledge lost their geographical significance to such an extent that they have become generic shall be deemed to have become generic, e.g., India Pale Ale.

(h) Except as provided in § 7.23(b), geographical names that are not names for distinctive types of malt beverages shall not be applied to malt beverages produced in any place other than the particular place or region indicated in the name.

[T.D. 6672, 28 FR 9637, Aug. 31, 1963, as amended at 29 FR 3572, Mar. 20, 1964; T.D. ATF-249, 52 FR 5956, Feb. 27, 1987; T.D. ATF 280, 54 FR 3594, Jan. 25, 1989; T.D. ATF-425, 65 FR 11892, Mar. 7, 2000; T.D. TTB-91, 76 FR 5477, Feb. 1, 2011]