Wholesale alcohol rules in Colorado

Whether a producer may sell direct to a retailer here, by beverage class. Each row says how well sourced it is: whether we read the statute ourselves, or are still working from our own notes or a secondary summary.

This is the producer-to-retailer lane. Sales through a licensed wholesaler are the ordinary route and are not what these rows describe. Nothing here is legal advice — it is a record of what we read, published so you can check it.

Beer

Open, but conditional

Condition: A Manufacturing Brewery needs a SEPARATE wholesaler licence, and even then the beer must physically transit a licensed wholesaler premises before it reaches the retailer.

C.R.S. 44-3-402(1)(b); LED Bulletin 15-03; LED Manufacturer Rights matrix — verified 2026-10-25.

Wine

Open, but conditional

Condition: WHICH Colorado winery licence the producer holds decides the answer: a LIMITED WINERY self-distributes outright, a Manufacturing Winery must obtain a wholesaler licence first.

C.R.S. 44-3-403(1), (2)(b); 44-3-402(1)(b); LED Bulletin 15-03 — verified 2026-10-25.

Spirits

Open, but conditional

Condition: A Manufacturing Distillery must obtain a SEPARATE wholesaler licence, restricted to its own products, before it may sell to a retailer.

LED Bulletin 15-03 (2015-07-23); C.R.S. 44-3-402(1)(c), (1)(e), (5)(b); 44-3-407(3) — verified 2026-10-25.

RTD / canned cocktails

Open, but conditional

Condition: A Manufacturing Brewery needs a SEPARATE wholesaler licence, and even then the beer must physically transit a licensed wholesaler premises before it reaches the retailer.

Derived from this state's beer, wine and spirits lanes (C.R.S. 44-3-402(1)(b); LED Bulletin 15-03; LED Manufacturer Rights matrix; C.R.S. 44-3-403(1), (2)(b); 44-3-402(1)(b); LED Bulletin 15-03; LED Bulletin 15-03 (2015-07-23); C.R.S. 44-3-402(1)(c), (1)(e), (5)(b); 44-3-407(3))

A class not listed above is one nobody has read yet — not even a secondary summary. It is not a finding that Colorado forbids it. Every row above links the statute it rests on, so you can check the reading for yourself.