Growler Limit from CT Breweries?

I think by the letter of the law it is actually 9 Liters (304 oz), so their answer matches what they can do on a per growler basis until the pint growler comes along.

 

Well, you don't just need pint growlers to fill the void, you can do 4 regular growlers and still have 48 oz left, which leaves you enough for a 32 oz growler or a 750...

 

Last time I base my calculation off of 288 oz being 4 x 64. 9 years of college down the drain.

 

Chapter 545 30-16

(b) A manufacturer permit for beer shall be in all respects the same as a manufacturer permit, except that the scope of operations of the holder shall be limited to beer, but shall permit the storage of beer in any part of the state. Such permit shall also authorize the offering and tasting, on the premises of the permittee, of free samples of beer brewed on such premises and the selling at retail from the premises of sealed bottles or other sealed containers of such beer for consumption off the premises. The offering and tasting may be limited to visitors who have attended a tour of the premises of the permittee. Such selling at retail from the premises of sealed bottles or other sealed containers shall comply with the provisions of subsection (d) of section 30-91 and shall permit not more than nine liters of beer to be sold to any person on any day on which such sale is authorized under the provisions of subsection (d) of section 30-91. The annual fee for a manufacturer permit for beer shall be one thousand dollars.

 

Individual breweries have their own policy. Nebco is 3 max, even if you're only filling 32s on a quiet day.

 

See, reading comprehension is fine. Math is suffering. Bad mix for an engineer.

 

so am I reading this right? you can only get 9 liters of beer per brewer per day? I've gone to a few breweries that let you have as many as 3 cases. something doesn't add up here.

 

If so, they did it illegally, which happened with one brewery I know of. Once they were advised of the legal limit, they stopped.

 

Does mass have a similar law? I did a quick search and didn’t find anything. I figure someone here probably had a quick answer.

There’s definitely breweries here that sell multiple cases to individuals. A case of 16 oz cans is more than the CT limit

 

Which breweries are selling a case of 16oz cans? They are 4-packs, not 6-packs.

 

Doesn’t trillium, treehouse, alchemist, bissell etc sell pint cans by the case? Or are you talking CT only

 

Big takeaway as it varies by each brewery/the time/line/hunger for your $

 

CT only, not familiar with MA laws. And no, the big takeaway is not it varies by every brewery. Pretty sure every brewery in CT follows the law, and for the new ones that don't know better, they fix that pretty quickly.

 

Another weird antiquated CT beer law that needs to go. You can buy as much as you want from a package store but breweries have a limit. It's just not as noticeable as those no Sunday sales/stores have to close at 9 p.m. laws.

 

The timing of this conversation couldn't be better! As a small CT based brewer we have always followed the 9 liter/person/day limit to the T as painful as it may be. It was 8 liters/person/day but Two Roads got this changed when the manufacturer for beer and brewpub license was created, allowing for taprooms without food service. Four and a half four packs of 16 oz cans is the most you can purchase at one time out of any CT based brewery in that format, so not even one full case of cans. When you really dig into why this limit exists, and start asking who we're protecting (Hint: It's not the consumer), it becomes clear that heavily paid lobbyists play a major role in keeping the current climate the same.

With that said, we've been conducting a bit of a grassroots campaign focused on eliminating this arbitrary limit. We've garnered the attention of several lawmakers throughout the state and as such, because this is a "short session" they have petitioned General Law to consider the issue, as a bill cannot be directly proposed by any member due to the "short session." At this point we have verbal confirmation that a public hearing will be scheduled this session. This is where you all come into play. You do not need to be in attendance to voice your support of this change, written testimony is considered just as valuable as someone speaking on the mic in front of the committee. It is however, rather impressive and overwhelming when large groups of supporters show up to the public hearing, often making a big impression on the committee.

This type of change is already being challenged and is sure to meet a large amount of opposition from those with the opposing view point and deep pockets to buy the favor of the committee. A letter to General Law drafted by Senator Heather Somers already reflects the fact that push back exists as the requested limit has been adjusted to 30 Liters/person/day.

I could go on and on about why we think this would be a move in the right direction, but I imagine most out there can formulate their own reasoning. The big takeaway here is if you care to see the government removed from your purchasing decisions, let those that make the laws know. A simple email, letter or phone call to your local Senator or Representative carries drastically more weight than most people think. We managed to get this far with a few pre printed post cards that carried constituents signatures! As soon as we receive word about the public hearing date and bill #, I'll circle back here with those details. If anyone has any questions or concerns about this initiative you can either visit me in our taproom to discuss it over a beer or email me directly at [email protected] Change starts somewhere, the spark is there, now we all need to fuel it!

 

Wow very interesting. Thanks for sharing Aaren and keep us posted!

 

Just to be clear I was specifically talking about Massachusetts where you can get multiple cases of cans.

Is this law specific to brewers who sell directly to the consumer? Can’t you walk into a liquor store and by a few cases of bud light if you want? If so there’s definitely something wrong with that scenario.

 

@Jam23, the 9 liter/person/day is specific to CT based manufacturing breweries carrying either the "Manufacturer For Beer" or "Manufacturer For Beer and Brewpub" license. I can't speak to the "Farm Brewery" license that was just released as I have yet to read about it.

Further you are correct in your assumption that if you had enough money and the desire to do so you may visit any licensed liquor store and purchase the entirety of their inventory at one time. What makes the limit on direct to consumer sales imposed on breweries even more arbitrary, is that you can visit any CT based wine maker and purchase an unlimited amount of wine directly from them, so again, who are we protecting?