The Washington, D.C., craft brewer is asking a federal judge to let it sell “The Precious One,” an apricot-infused IPA for which it can’t get a Certificate of Label Approval from Alcohol & Tobacco Tax & Trade Bureau, thanks to the partial government shutdown that began Dec. 22.
It says the labels are a form of speech, and since the closure prevents TTB from acting on the COLA application, Atlas Beer’s free speech rights under the 21st Amendment are being violated.
The first 80 barrels are ready for consumption. About 20 were expected to be distributed in Maryland, Virginia and Tennessee.