Divisive beer bill passes overwhelmingly in Florida Senate, awaits House
The brewers like the part that of the bill that would allow them to fill 64-ounce “growler” jugs of beer for customers to take home with them, but they dislike the part that would restrict beermakers who brew more than 2,000 kegs – or 1,000 barrels – from selling more than 20 percent of their bottled or canned beers to take-home customers.
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Thanks for the ongoing coverage of this bill. As a (lazy) person who lives outside of Florida – and who does not know the laws for other states like Illinois, California, MI, or New York (other states that have lots of craft breweries), can you provide some perspective on how this bill compares with other states? The reading of the bill seems like a blatantly raw deal for the craft brewers, but if this bill is consistent with what other brewers in other states have to deal with, I’ll dial back my surprise.
All of you craft beer fans and employees in other states, I hope you’re following along.
It really varies from state to state. For example, in Alabama, homebrewing was illegal until just this past year. On the flip side, in California, Stone Brewing Company is able to distribute its own beer and that of other breweries in Southern California as well as sell its own beer directly. The company can act as a brewery, a distributor and a bar/retailer. Just an example of how flexible or inflexible individual states can be.
Thanks, Adam. The info on CA and how Stone is able to operate is very helpful. As a person who has to travel to FL at least a few times a year, I hope they figure out how to side with the brewers and keep good craft in state. Cigar City is an obvious star in the state, but other smaller brewers like Funky Buddha and St. Somewhere are also consistently very good. It would be a shame for the state to chase out such good brewers. Thanks again for shedding a spotlight on this. If this bill passes in FL I can only imagine that other lawmakers in other states – who are also in the pockets of the big brewers – will look to follow suit.
This bill here in FL is ridiculous. It calls for breweries to buy back their own product from distributors if the want to sell cans or bottles from their tap room. It’s all backed by InBev lobbyists who are best friends with state representatives and dishing out campaign money.