Support SB85 for GA Breweries

I'm feeling confident this time, that logic will prevail and we can finally be like the surrounding states!

 

It is allegedly a done deal according to friends in GCBG, but one never knows .

 

Based on how quiet everyone has been, I assumed that as well. No brewery or govt announcements.

It was telling when creature stopped threatening to move their new brewery expansion outside Georgia, and then announced they would be staying in Athens and going bigger than planned.

 

Has anyone really read into it? I just glanced and it looks like if passed, we may have similar laws to South Carolina. We need to get this passed as is, no watering down! Hope this is the case.

 

Already out of committee. Floor vote probably Thursday. This is being fast tracked. Call your Senators just in case.

 

It essentially boils down to being able to buy for onsite consumption (pints, tasting flights, etc.) and offsite consumption. I don't see a limit for daily onsite consumption, but the limit for daily offsite is 288 oz (any combination of cans, bottles, or growlers).

Each brewery can sell direct to the consumer up to 3,000 BBL per year (93,000 gallons). It also doesn't seem to specify whether both onsite and offsite count towards this limit, but there may be only a few breweries in the state that could even get close to hitting it.

In any event, it would be great news for GA beer and we'd finally be able to see real bottle release events, etc.

http://www.legis.ga.gov/Legislation/en-US/display/20172018/SB/85

 

There was one change to the law in the committee. It was snuck in. The effective date of the law was changed from July 1st to September 1st. It is Section 6. I guess we will have to wait a few more months.

 

This was at DOR request. Lot's of regulations and paperwork to update. They originally wanted Jan 1.

 

We've waited this long already, so what's 2 more months?

 

The revenue argument seems to always sway stodgy legislators. More sales, more taxes, etc. Anyway, have the big wholesale operations been opposed to the new legislation in Georgia? Here in North Carolina, when Pop the Cap (raising ABV limitations) was being debated, the big wholesale houses lobbied (with big money) against the changes. Now they act as if they were for the changes all along. With the changes in the law in 2005, North Carolina has emerged very nicely in all things beer. The people are always ahead of the legislature, no matter where one lives.

 

OUTSTANDING!!!!! Bout damn time.

 

I apologize for re-awakening this thread, but it seemed the most "on-topic" place to post my question. I find myself planning a short stop in Savannah coming up here soon. Reading some of the past threads, I think I've got a decent list of places to aim to go to already.

But am I understanding correctly that under current GA laws, I can't visit any of the breweries in Savannah for a beer, unless I take the tour? They don't (can't?) have tasting rooms that I can just grab a pint?

And I'm going to be there on a Tues/Wed, so none of the breweries I found even had the option of tours those days...

 

Yes, that's correct. Most breweries I've seen in Georgia tend to be open for a couple hours a day late in the week, and then maybe a couple more hours Saturday and maybe Sunday, i.e. not open many hours at all. Hopefully after this bill goes into effect that'll change.

 

Bummer. I was hoping I was missing something.
Thanks for the info though!