"For some reason the liquor control commission is disagreeing with that very common business practice," Vander Mill CEO Paul Vander Heide said.

GRAND RAPIDS, Michigan — Michigan is one of the nation's top producers of craft beer and cider, but some craft beverage businesses say state regulators are not helping their cause.

As a result, three such businesses are suing Michigan's Liquor Control Commission.

Under federal law, cider falls under the wine category. Greenbush Brewing, Farmhaus Cider and Vander Mill are suing the Liquor Control Commission.

The lawsuit comes after they say attempts to handle the matter without legal aid has been unsuccessful.

"I got a phone call saying that we've been raided," Greenbush co-founder and owner Scott Sullivan said.

Sullivan can no longer service his customers right now.

"They impounded our cider and wine and effectively suspended our winemaker's license so we can't sell anything to the public right now," Sullivan said. "They told us that we had to produce 100% of any ciders that we sold on our tap lines or bottles or whatever."

Greenbush was selling Vander Mill ciders. But according to these business owners, Greenbush was following the law.

"It has been allowed since I've been in business and for a long time before that," Vander Mill co-founder and CEO Paul Vander Heide said.

They say, under federal law, wineries are able to sell their product to other wineries and other breweries.

"It has been operating this way in Michigan for 40 years or more," Vander Heide said. "It technically doesn't even touch the state's purview of regulation; it is held within that federal bond. I then transfer [the] product to another winery. For some reason, the Liquor Control Commission is disagreeing with that very common business practice."

The commission then asked to see a year and a half's worth of invoices from Vander Mill.

"Some of the customers that we have that we would sell cider too, they don't want to be on a list that brings the liquor control commission to their door," Vander Heide said.

These business owners aren't the only ones feeling the consequences.

"Cider uses almost exclusively Michigan apples and by limiting the places where we sell our cider, you're limiting the sales of Michigan apples and Michigan agriculture," Farmhaus Cider co-founder John Behrens said.

"We've had tons of complaints. Fourth of July weekend is our busiest week and we got smoked that week by people for that," Sullivan said.

They're hoping this is all a big misunderstanding.

"We are within the law. Michigan doesn't have to adopt anything. We are within both state and federal law, and it seems to be a miscommunication with enforcement," Vander Heide said.

"This is legal, it has always been legal and we want to make that point very clear to our customers and everybody in this industry, and we don't want to be do anything that negatively impacts Michigan agriculture," Behrens said.

They all say that this lawsuit was not meant to be an egregious move toward the commission, they just want to make sure everyone is on the same page.

13 ON YOUR SIDE reached out to the state for a response, but they will not comment on pending litigation.

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