MA Alcohol Task Force accepting public comments

Is this the right tree to bark up for lack of happy hour? Because that is some world class BS that makes zero sense

 

I started a thread on this a year or so back and the consensus seemed to be that businesses didn't want it legal because as soon as one bar had a happy hour everyone would have to have one in order to compete. So it might be stuck in the very same position as the growler law - for every business that wants it changed there's one that doesn't, so there's not enough momentum to flip the status quo

 

From what I understand, it's not that JA CAN'T refill growlers you bring in - they just don't They swap them out for ones they KNOW are clean, and run the old ones through a cleaning process. This also allows them to check for ones with cracks and whatnot, reducing possibility of blowouts.
They can't refill other brand's growlers because the state does not allow them to.

 

Our board of health monitors our growler sanitation process and has made it clear we can only fill growlers that have been properly cleaned by us. We were doing that anyway because as you mentioned we want to make sure they are clean and safe but it is now the only option we have.

 

wow, learn something new every day. I guess that is a Framingham thing; every other brewery in every other town is happy to fill ones I bring in - though I do clean them well before bringing in anyway.

 

This would have been a requirement from the city of Malden as well. Instead of spending hours upon hours cleaning growlers at the end or beginning of one's shift we decided to move to a 100% disposable package (crowlers) instead and eliminate the growler all together.

When you get down to the local level, every health department is different based on how cautious they are. Another example is opened windows in the dining area... in the city of Boston no problem. In the city of Malden... no can do for fear of pests and contamination.

 

It strikes me as a bit absurd that local boards of health are banning the filling growlers at all. I wonder if these communities also prevent people getting coffee in reusable mugs? So much for sustainability...

 

While I don't disagree with you as a business owner you only have so much sway without starting to ruffle feathers and ultimately delaying your opening, etc. In the end our choice to move to crowlers was a good decision as the beer holds up better in that package and it doesn't require someone to remember to bring their growler, etc.

 

Speaking of Idle Hands and containers, I noticed some cans listed as available on the taproom website. Are you guys making a big move in that direction or is this more of a one time thing/testing the waters sort of deal?

I'd buy the hell out of Klara and Adelais in cans in the summer time

 

Our plan right now is to can once a month (roughly). Each canning run will consist of a batch of Four Seam (NEIPA) and another beer in our repetoire. March was Adelais. April will be Proeme, May is Heide and we are still finalizing what June will be.

So the answer is yes, we are definitely headed in that direction. If the cans prove to be popular then we'll look to expand it.

 

Interesting that they're all mid-day during the week. Guess it'll be industry people taking a long lunch to attend. Too bad, I would have loved to participate or at least observe.

 

Interesting news, via a facebook post from Navigation Brewing in Lowell:

http://www.bizjournals.com/boston/n...mass-breweries-will-let-you-fill.html?ana=fbk

Good News! A new Massachusetts law now allows us to fill BLANK growlers in addition to our own branded growlers. One detail to point out, the article reads that any type of growler can be filled however the law reads glass. Anyway, moving forward Navigation Brewing Co. will fill BLANK 750ml, 32oz, and 64oz growlers in addition to our branded growlers. Please note your personal growler must have its size marked clearly and more importantly it must be clean. #cabinetspace#growlerlaw

 

Hahaha This provision sucks. In other states you can just tape over the branded text and another brewery can fill it. So now in MA I'd have to buy another (blank) growler to cut down on buying other growlers?

 

It seems they could have clarified and simplified the growler issue, but now it seems even messier.

 

OK. So does someone want to post a YouTube video of how to remove the labels from all of the various growlers? I'll start to practice on my Wormtown growlers and report back. I'm thinking paint thinner to start...

EDIT: Nevermind. Heres a link: http://www.beeroftomorrow.com/make-a-blank-growler-how-to-remove-printed-lables/

 

I haven't read the full report yet (I plan to soon) but based on your summary, with the except of the first and third bullets (although the devil is very much in the details), I hope none of their recommendations are realized. Sounds like this task force was a waste of time and money.

Edit: As I read through the details, some of the individual recommendations I agree with, some I don't. I don't hold high hopes for the ones I like taking effect, but perhaps I'll get lucky.