Sensible and Dumb State Beer Laws

In Arkansas you can't buy one single beer. You have to buy at least three at a time off the singles shelves. Bizarre.

 

Yes, thankfully. My local brand new Big Y has beer and wine. But it's sad that Yankee Spirits had to sell its store in Rockland in order to open a different one (back when the limit was 3). Still, there is no point to this other than to prop up prices for the distributors by reducing buying power.

 

When I read something like that I have to wonder just whose interest is being served.

 

I only know my one crazy, first hand experience at Olive Garden in SLC. After driving from San Jose CA (at 100 MPH most of the way), we were thirsty for a beer. Pretty blonde bartender to Olive Garden pointed out some local beer on tap (it was 1999), which we said we'd like and then told us to back ten feet away from the bar so she could pour it. We were confused, but she said no patron could be within 10 feet of the tap handle while she poured. She said some bars had the taps way behind the bar to solve this, but Olive Garden didn't have the space. Weird.

 

The 1 license per person rule could actually be a good thing. Where I'm from there aren't many good beer stores. I would definitely prefer a few local stores than one chain.

 

What he said. It's awesome.

 

Now that's an odd one. Except for the seller and the brewery.. who benefits?

Delaware had a 'Sunday' blue law until about 15 years ago. I still wish they could sell beer in the grocery stores... but overall, I can't complain. A drive to Maryland once or twice a month gives the wife and I something to look forward to.

 

My local go to distributor also gets a great selection and recently added a large cooler section just for 12 packs after the law passed allowing that. Regarding your case observations, I too see this at my go to place. The upside to my distributor is that they will recognize that making some money on the case is better than none and when the seasons change I can pick-up a $50 case for $20-25 that is still within date for a couple of months, at least. If that wasn't already a plus, the distributor is the go to place for the local college students and they would rather the Natty or Busch so there is always a pretty good selection of reduced price cases.

 

My brother fell afoul of the supermarket law. He thought he was doing his Colorado in-laws a solid for their hospitality by picking up some local supermarket beer and his sister-in-law was going, "Why did you buy this?" This was despite the fact she had helpfully said nothing whatsoever about the laws there.

 

Can not understand how any state that sells hard alcohol can have a cap on beer abv.

 

I can understand how dumb legislation happens but can't understand why.

 

Utah: ALL draft beer 4.0% ABV. Change will never happen. Utah breweries like Epic, Uinta, Squatters, would never be supportive of the change as this will take away their business of 4.0 draft beers. Utah sucks.

 

Want to talk about dumb, read through the 2 articles at the below links. It's about the ridiculous Johnstown Flood tax that is placed on alcohol in PA. 80 years of this tax, so far, and I am sure the state has made their money back plus, now its just a free revenue stream.

General overview of Johnstown Flood tax
http://www.post-gazette.com/opinion...lood-tax-is-itself-taxed/stories/201604010223

History of how Johnstown Flood tax came about
http://vinepair.com/wine-blog/high-price-alcohol-pennsylvania-can-blamed-flood/

 

I think the dumbest laws everywhere are the ones that limit your blood alcohol content for driving while most bartenders will serve you until you can't walk...

 

Yeah, I'm not optimistic we'll be seeing that tax disappear anytime soon given what the money goes to support.

At least that tax doesn't apply to beer, only wine and spirits sold through the state store system.

 

Well, not everywhere.

In PA & NJ we have Dram Shop laws in place which motivate bartenders and servers to cut you off when showing visible signs of being intoxicated.

 

In Alabama where the laws are improving (albeit very slowly) I decry the three tiered distribution system most of all. Often in restaurants or even grocery stores I can't chose from all of the local breweries because only 1 or two are offered by that venue.

 

Liquor stores. Seriously, in states like Indiana where there are no Sunday liquor sales, the liquor store owners don't want to have to open a seventh day. Most of Indiana's crappy beer laws come from the liquor store lobby because it lines their wallets nicely.

You can get higher proof beer in Utah, but bottles only, not on draft. If you're drinking at a brewpub, you can drink the higher abv stuff, but the brewery has to sell the beer to the state and buy it back before serving it to you.

Dumbest laws I can think of off the top of my head:

-Georgia, Tennessee and a couple others that have time limits on how often different levels of distribution can change price.

-The Colorado 3.2 law, finally it's gone...sort of...basically it'll phase out over the next decade.

-I hate the North Carolina law that only lets them serve me one drink at a time. Seriously, just give me two beers.

-It annoys me that distributors in Ohio generally cannot sell direct to me as a consumer, sometimes I might want fifteen cases for a party or something...

-I hate any state that requires state approval of alcohol labels.