Southern Glazer’s settles federal bribery probe for $12.5M • Trump says he will lift the 10% Irish whiskey tariff • Sixth Circuit voids $31.8M marijuana contract verdict.
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NEW REALM BREWING
Daily Compliance Brief
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Vol. 1 • Edition 31 • Monday, September 14, 2026 • Alcohol & Hemp/THC Regulation • Federal + All 50 States
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Good morning — here’s the regulatory picture for alcohol and hemp/THC beverages, readable in about three minutes. Every headline links to the original source. A quiet weekend on the state front means a shorter states section today.
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Top Story
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Southern Glazer’s to pay $12.5 million to resolve federal bribery investigation
FEDERAL / CALIFORNIA • U.S. Department of Justice • Sep 10
Southern Glazer’s Wine and Spirits agreed to pay $12.5 million to resolve a U.S. Attorney’s investigation (Northern District of California) into years of improper payments — cash, gift cards, flights, golf trips and luxury goods — made to alcohol buyers at major California grocery chains and concealed through false invoices generated by third-party vendors. The nation’s largest wine and spirits distributor agreed to strengthen its compliance program and to cooperate with prosecutions of current or former employees; the office noted that several California-based executives, including vice presidents, were directly involved. U.S. Attorney Craig Missakian said the office is “committed to making sure everyone plays by the same rules.”
Why it matters: Federal prosecutors — not just TTB and state ABCs — are policing pay-to-play in alcohol retail. Suppliers, distributors and retail partners should make sure buyer-facing incentives, samples and promotional spending are documented and within federal and state trade-practice rules.
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Federal
Trump says he will remove the 10% tariff on Irish whiskey
FEDERAL • AP via ABC News • Sep 13
Speaking Sunday at a golf tournament in Doonbeg, Ireland, President Trump said he will take the 10% tariff off Irish whiskey — a rate he had reduced from 15% in July as part of the general EU tariff — though no implementation timing was announced. Tariffs on U.K. whiskey, including Scotch, were lifted in May. Why it matters: import pricing on Irish whiskey could ease, but the change is not effective until formal action issues — watch for the executive order and effective date before adjusting purchasing plans.
Sixth Circuit reverses $31.8M verdict, holds marijuana contracts unenforceable in federal court
FEDERAL COURTS • National Law Review (Bradley) • Sep 11
In Hello Farms Licensing MI, LLC v. GR Vending MI, LLC (No. 25-1759, decided Sep 10), the Sixth Circuit reversed a $31.8 million jury award, holding that federal courts will not enforce a contract whose performance requires committing federal crimes under the Controlled Substances Act. The panel wrote that appropriations riders and this year’s move of marijuana to Schedule III limit enforcement or add registration requirements but do not make the conduct legal. Why it matters: contracts touching state-legal marijuana (unlike federally compliant hemp) may be enforceable only in state court — forum and choice-of-law clauses deserve a fresh look from anyone with cannabis-adjacent counterparties.
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Around the States
New York: governor’s office may move against THC drinks in grocery and retail stores
NEW YORK • Marijuana Moment • Sep 14
Marijuana Moment’s Monday roundup reports that the New York governor’s office may crack down on intoxicating THC drinks sold in grocery stores and other retail outlets outside the state’s licensed cannabis system. Why it matters: New York retail partners carrying hemp-derived THC beverages should confirm product and channel licensing status before restocking.
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On the Radar
Dec. 11, 2026 — effective date of the federal hemp THC ban, after the 29-day delay signed September 3 as part of the federal funding measure. Unless Congress acts again, hemp products above 0.4 mg total THC per container are recriminalized on that date; the delay did not extend to synthetic cannabinoids that cannot be naturally produced by the cannabis plant.
Sept. 29 — for brewers and other excise taxpayers who pay by electronic funds transfer, September splits into three return periods under TTB’s September rules: the September 16–26 period’s return and payment are due by September 29.
Schedule III rollout — DEA registration terms for state-licensed marijuana businesses are still taking shape; recent reporting describes conditions negotiated case by case, and the Sixth Circuit’s Hello Farms ruling underscores that rescheduling by itself does not make marijuana commerce federally lawful.
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Jeremy Barnes | Chief Financial Officer, New Realm Brewing Co.
Prepared for New Realm’s leadership team and valued partners. This brief is for general informational purposes only and is not legal advice; it is compiled with AI assistance from the linked sources — please confirm details at the link before acting on them.
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Audio transcript (~2 min read)
This is the New Realm Compliance Brief, Volume One, Edition Thirty-One, for Monday, September Fourteenth.
Our top story: Southern Glazer's Wine and Spirits has agreed to pay twelve and a half million dollars to resolve a federal investigation by the United States Attorney's office in Northern California. Prosecutors said the nationwide distributor made years of improper payments, including cash, gift cards, flights, golf trips and luxury goods, to alcohol buyers at major California grocery chains, and concealed them through false invoices from third-party vendors. The company agreed to strengthen its compliance program and to cooperate with prosecutions of current or former employees. The takeaway for suppliers, distributors and retailers: federal prosecutors, not just state alcohol regulators, are policing trade-practice rules, so keep buyer-facing incentives documented and within the law.
In other federal news, President Trump said Sunday at a golf tournament in Ireland that he will remove the ten percent tariff on Irish whiskey, a rate he had reduced from fifteen percent in July. No timing was announced, and importers should watch for the formal action before adjusting plans.
Also, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed a thirty-one point eight million dollar jury verdict, ruling that federal courts cannot enforce marijuana contracts because performing them requires violating federal drug law. The panel said this year's move of marijuana to Schedule Three does not change that.
Around the states: in New York, Marijuana Moment reports the governor's office may crack down on THC drinks sold in grocery and retail outlets outside licensed channels.
On the radar: December eleventh remains the effective date of the federal hemp THC ban after the delay signed earlier this month. And excise taxpayers who pay electronically face a September twenty-ninth due date for the September sixteenth through twenty-sixth tax period.
Full details and source links are in today's email. This update is for general information only. It is not legal advice.