FL Growler bill passes

When you can only get a growler up to 32 ounces in size or 128 ounces or more, I would say yes it makes a very big difference. A 128 ounce growler of beer is an obnoxious level of brew.

Businesses should be able to sell whatever size growler they damn well please, when it comes down to it. Especially since the mass majority of consumers in the state want it.

 

only you crazy Floridians would want 128oz of any beer

 

It does work fine for tailgating, don't you know?
Come Oktoberfest time I just love Floridian with my wurst. I do it in the yard with friends and family.
High Prost!

 

Woohoo victory is (y)ours.

 

Damn right! (y)

 

Another article:

http://www.tampabay.com/news/politi...senate-approaches-compromise-in-house/2225499

The bill would also clear up the tourism exemption and allow 8 tap room licenses per brewery, which IMO, is far more important to the Florida craft beer industry than 64oz growlers. Here's to hoping that it passes in the House as well.

 

@TKEbeerman

 

That article says it just passed the Senate, so it still has to get through the House. Either way, that's great news!

 

But what are your thoughts on Hop Gun Classic?

 

One step in the right direction.

 

I don't understand the bit about 3.5 oz limits on tasters. (Almost at the end of the article)

http://tbo.com/news/politics/state-senate-oks-beer-growlers-house-vote-later-today-20150414/

 

Here's the existing Florida Status. The green text is what the bill adds, the red text is what the bill removes: https://www.flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2015/0186/BillText/e1/HTML

This is my summary:
- You can no longer use an electronics benefits card to purchase alcohol anywhere (previously you couldn't at bars)
- Previous wording was kind of vague about breweries having vendor licenses in non-brewery structures. Now it has to be a brewery. This might prohibit breweries from owning tap rooms in which no brewing occurs. Brewing campuses are ok.
- A brewery that has multiple vendor locations can transport their own beer between locations without a distributor involved.
- A brewery can operate up to 8 locations with vendor licenses.
- Removal of "broker" as a potential participant in many advertising / promotional functions.
- Conversion of "shall" to "may" in reference to the minimum sale price of promotional items.
- Tastings at off-premises sales locations (liquor stores) are now allowed.
- Breweries / distributors can't create advertising for those tastings, so basically they can't endorse or recommend the tasting location. Tasting location can advertise however they want.
- Various text updates "beer" to "malt beverage".
- Previously vehicles that transported alcohol for business purposes had to be licensed, this is no longer the case.
- It is specifically legal to transport a full or empty growler. Wasn't illegal before, but now it is defined as legal.
- A malt beverage may be sold in a growler defined as 32, 64 or 128 ounces.
- A applicable off-premises vendor license is required to sell growlers
- Growlers require a label that specifies the brewery, beer and estimated ABV.
- Growlers must be sealed.
- Growlers can't be distributed.
- $250 fine for violating growler laws.
- Sampling activities must occur at a location with an on-premises consumption license, liquor store or in a distribution warehouse of at least 10,000 feet.
- Have to be 21 to participate in a sampling event.
- Samples have to be provided in a tasting cup or an open container, you can't provide sealed containers at a sampling event.
- Liquor store tastings (off-premises vendor licenses) have to occur indoors and samples must be provided in tasting cups of 3.5oz or less.
- Breweries and distributors can't pay a vendor to host a sampling event, however they can purchase the products to be sampled from the vendor at no more than retail price.
- Breweries and distributors must pay excise tax on the items sampled and must return all unconsumed items to inventory.
- Only one brewery/distributor tasting at a time at a location, although locations can have multiple sampling events each day.
- On-premises consumption license holders can also host tasting events with products from their own inventory.
- Distilleries can sell no more than 2 of each product, 3 of a single product plus 1 of another product, 4 of a single product in a face-to-face transaction. Only face-to-face transactions are allowed. Previously only 2 total bottles were allowed.
- Distilleries can only deliver to consumers on the distillery property (what?)
- Upon request, the state will install Highway Guide Signs directing auto traffic to craft distilleries. I think that's those blue signs you see on the interstate.
- This all takes effect July 1.

 

I don't know if those sampling event changes conflict with beer festivals, though I wouldn't imagine they do since at beer festivals you are buying the beer and selling it (through tickets) for on-premises consumption. There's probably some other section of Florida Status that deals with that.

 

Thanks for translating the legal speak.

 

So..wait...a vendor license doesn't allow sales for off-premise consumption? Sounds like you'll need a vendor license, and off-premises vendor license.

And where does this leave brewpubs? If the vendor license is allowing the sale of alcohol period then what is going to happen to brewpubs? I know Florida has different regulations for breweries vs brewpubs, but's I've never been 100% clear on these.

 

Funny you should ask, but let me say this..............
In my small way, I'm trying to start a movement to bring back, even in small batches, the original Hop Gun.
What you say? Join in?
BTW, I did warn/tell them at the brewery.
Oh, and thanks for asking!

 

im in

 

Does this pertain only to breweries, or would this prevent growler stations at places like Total Wine or ABC? I can't imagine they would be able to carry a specific label for every brewery, unless you're allowed to just handwrite that info on the growler.