A few beers helped launch a new organization May 27 aimed at providing craft beverage producers and suppliers with the best legal advice.

The Craft Beverage Lawyers Guild's governing board is comprised of 10 attorneys from law firms and brewing companies across the U.S. The website is cblguild.org.

Michigan lawyer and founding guild member Joseph Infante told business news publication MiBiz that the industry is highly regulated and more sophisticated than it was 15 years ago. He said the guild will vet potential members to make sure that they are involved in the craft beverage industry. Members will be expected to attend conferences and speak on legal issues.

"It certainly won't hurt members' individual businesses. But the reason we formed is to make sure suppliers are getting good representation," said Infante, head of the alcoholic beverage regulation team at Miller, Canfield, Paddock and Stone PLC.

Infante said the idea came up during the Craft Brewers Conference in Philadelphia in early May, during a meetup for alcoholic beverage lawyers.

"I think this was a great idea, and we all jumped at the chance to be involved," he said. http://bit.ly/22vQFyX

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