MEAD Act

Mead Equality And Definition Act of 2016 or the MEAD Act

This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to modify rules regarding the taxation of mead (honey wine) and other agricultural wines.

The bill repeals the limitations on adding wine spirits to an agricultural wine or using any coloring material, herbs, or other flavoring material (except hops in the case of honey wine) in the production.

The Department of the Treasury must modify regulations for the production of agricultural wine to allow: (1) the use of spirits in the production of agricultural wine; and (2) additional ingredients to be added during the production of mead, including limited amounts of fruits, vegetables, spices, and other ingredients that are suitable for human food consumption and safe for use in an alcoholic beverage.

In modifying the regulations, Treasury must also:

• eliminate limitations on the quantity of hops used in mead;
• specify certain requirements for the density of the honey and water mixture when additional ingredients are added to mead;
• limit the alcohol content of mead to 24% by volume; and
• allow an agricultural wine to be produced for research and development without an approved formula, as long as the wine is not marketed or sold prior to approval of the formula.

The bill also: (1) specifies a tax rate of 22.6 cents per gallon for mead containing not more than 0.64 grams of carbon dioxide per hundred milliliters of mead, and (2) allows a credit against such tax on meads for small domestic producers.