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Certified Beer Server · Keeping and Serving Beer

The Three-tier System in the United States

Syllabus Path

Know the normal legal movement of beer through brewer or importer, wholesaler, retailer, and consumer, plus common direct-sale exceptions.

  1. I. Keeping and Serving Beer
  2. A. Purchasing and accepting beer
  3. 1. The three-tier system in the United States

Exam Focus

  • Name the three tiers and the consumer-facing endpoint.
  • Recognize wholesalers as distributors.
  • Recognize brewpubs and direct-sales breweries as common exceptions.

Three-tier flow

Beer normally moves from brewers or importers to wholesalers, from wholesalers to on- and off-premise retailers, and from retailers to consumers.

Common exceptions

Some states allow brewpubs or breweries to sell directly to consumers or retailers, so servers should understand the standard flow without assuming it is universal.

Key Terms

Wholesaler
A distributor that buys beer from brewers or importers and sells it to retailers.

References

3 available