Georgia might be back to square one.

Discussion in 'South Atlantic' started by ndepriest, Sep 29, 2015.

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  1. ndepriest

    ndepriest Initiate (0) Feb 21, 2012 Georgia
    Trader

  2. floridadrift

    floridadrift Initiate (0) Oct 24, 2014 Florida

    Money money money monae!!! Money!
     
  3. emr25

    emr25 Initiate (0) Mar 19, 2011 Georgia

    I'll wait until the dust settles, but at first glance this is bad news for GA. I would imagine it has something to do with the CC See the Stars and SweetWater BBA Imperial Stout bottle releases. That plus the fact that the distributors do a good job of lining the pockets of those in the political realm.
     
  4. ScottDawg7

    ScottDawg7 Initiate (0) Jul 27, 2015 Georgia

    Any word if this impacts the Terrapin bottle release on 10/1?
     
  5. factory

    factory Initiate (0) Jun 25, 2010 Georgia

    I'd actually say there are others that have exploited this more than these two. Nothing against them at all.

    And I'm moving. Who will take me in?
     
  6. scbeerman

    scbeerman Initiate (0) Feb 16, 2015 South Carolina

    Oh, for fuck's sake. This is absolutely ridiculous. Those BAs who happen to reside in Georgia need to start writing their representatives again and maybe putting some opinion pieces in the local papers. No politician likes to be labelled "anti-business" except maybe Bernie Sanders.
     
  7. emr25

    emr25 Initiate (0) Mar 19, 2011 Georgia

    I wasn't intending it to mean CC and SweetWater were exploiting the letter of the law for SB63, just that they were two higher profile releases that I am sure the wholesalers were not thrilled about due to missing out on their usual percentage of the proceeds.

    I agree, these archaic and ridiculous laws our state is coming up with makes it hard to support and encourage local breweries, as you saw in the CC article posted on the Reddit page, it will eventually start losing our state a bunch of revenue when our best and biggest breweries move production elsewhere.
     
  8. TBBAGBIF

    TBBAGBIF Initiate (0) Jun 18, 2015 Georgia

    The Sweetwater release is small potatoes. It's very limited and that beer will see pretty wide distro (similar to Pit & the Pendulum if I'm not mistaken). And the Creature Comforts tour was perfectly legal even under the new rules. There was a set price for a tour and everyone paid the same price. Actually, I take that back. The special tour from 11-1 was perfectly legal. The buy 1 or two bottles and a glass for $30 / $60 would not be legal, as the price is tied to the amount of alcohol one got as a souvenir. To be legal they needed to have a set price that everyone paid, or tie the increase in price to another souvenir ($30 = 1 bottle and 1 glass; $60 = 2 bottles and 2 glasses--I believe that would be legal).
     
    Jshari223 likes this.
  9. weaverr

    weaverr Zealot (705) Jun 10, 2008 California

    It was only a matter of time. SB63 was pretty explicit in its definition of "free souvenirs." I don't know why the Brewers Guild started providing the guidance that they did, but here we are. I actually think that the way Creature Comforts did See The Stars was mostly ok, other than they did advertise it as a bottle release and later started associating the price per tour with the number of bottles you received.

    Honestly I think this is the problem: https://scontent-iad3-1.xx.fbcdn.ne...=bec4ab342bf53a669864fe7a22b18523&oe=56922DAD

    Burnt Hickory is not advertising tours. They are advertising growler fills and bottle sales with discounts for volume purchase. This is explicitly illegal. The end result here is that breweries need to offer tour tiers and not tie them directly to bottle prices. It's politics as usual in this state and 3 months ago we were all agreeing on this forum that the gray area would get ironed out as brewers continued to test the fence. Well it turns out the electricity is still on.

    Although let's be honest, Savannah Distributing was one of the largest financial opponents of SB63 and they distribute Creature Comforts. I'm sure someone was upset they didn't get to distribute See The Stars and this is them throwing around their weight.
     
    PurdueBrewCrew likes this.
  10. ScottDawg7

    ScottDawg7 Initiate (0) Jul 27, 2015 Georgia

    How much would they have made distributing the limited production See the Stars (only 600+ bottles)? And how many accounts would have even received any?
     
  11. weaverr

    weaverr Zealot (705) Jun 10, 2008 California

    It's about control and power, not profit and relationships.
     
  12. PurdueBrewCrew

    PurdueBrewCrew Initiate (0) May 28, 2015 North Carolina

    Yep exactly. If this is the kind of game the Georgia distributors are going to play then Creature Comforts (and others) to do might want to retaliate by getting distribution deals in other states and then only selling those distributors limited releases until the Georgia ones get the picture.
     
    Mangbus likes this.
  13. elektrikjester

    elektrikjester Initiate (0) Nov 15, 2008 Georgia

    I understand what you're trying to say, but taking this approach would only serve to alienate Georgia consumers who comprise Creature Comforts' base. And alienating customers in your home state is no way to achieve this goal, particularly for many Georgia breweries that have yet to distro out of the state. That will change soon, however, as breweries such as Creature Comforts, Orpheus, etc. begin to grow and may choose to seek out new markets.
     
  14. elektrikjester

    elektrikjester Initiate (0) Nov 15, 2008 Georgia

  15. emr25

    emr25 Initiate (0) Mar 19, 2011 Georgia

    I was literally copy and pasting that link just now. It is a good read for those interested in the challenge of GA beer laws.
     
    elektrikjester likes this.
  16. rgordon

    rgordon Pooh-Bah (2,677) Apr 26, 2012 North Carolina
    Pooh-Bah Society

    Bernie Sanders is not "anti-business". We live within a socialistic political system as of now, and his honesty about being a socialist is refreshing. He is not a dangerous man. As for this legislative and political business in Georgia, just know that the most powerful lobbies in many states are funded by beer and wine wholesalers. These relationships go way back and they strive and sue their way to keep control of all facets of the distribution business. It is an old boy network that is quiet, nebulous, and opaque. Alcohol is heavily regulated at every level, and lots of people get their hands in the mix. I have never liked any of it.
     
  17. elektrikjester

    elektrikjester Initiate (0) Nov 15, 2008 Georgia

    All too often, I think it is incredibly difficult to convey how hard Georgia BAs have worked to change things. It's too easy to denigrate lawmakers, which all too frequently devolves into a condemnation of Georgia itself as a backwards state. That characterization is a total reduction of reality.

    The truth of the matter is that many, many individuals want to see our laws change and have worked tirelessly for that happen. Yet, we face a hostile regulatory environment and entrenched interests. Change doesn't happen overnight.

    We have lots of great breweries in Georgia, and I'm proud to call them *Georgia* breweries. All we want is for them to succeed, and that success doesn't have to come at the expense of distributors or retailers, whom we also see as important to the success of Georgia's beer industry.
     
  18. scbeerman

    scbeerman Initiate (0) Feb 16, 2015 South Carolina

    The Bernie thing is just a joke based on the "outsider" perspective pushed by his campaign
     
    rgordon likes this.
  19. rgordon

    rgordon Pooh-Bah (2,677) Apr 26, 2012 North Carolina
    Pooh-Bah Society

    That's good. I would support the man if he had a chance in hell. I'm tired of Clintons and Bushes and I would love to see a Kasich or a Biden on the ticket somewhere. So, beer related, what's your favorite Palmetto State brew these days? And cheers!
     
  20. weaverr

    weaverr Zealot (705) Jun 10, 2008 California

    If breweries didn't have to worry so much about stroking the egos of lawmakers, it would be fun to see the Brewer's Guild create limited edition trading cards. Each would feature a politician that mangled SB63 and how much each distributor donated to them. Then make those limited edition cards the non-alcoholic promotional item that delineated the difference between the tour with to-go souvenirs and without to-go souvenirs.
     
    TBBAGBIF likes this.
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