I love beer.
Whether cooking eggs on a Saturday morning or relieving stress after an exam, times not to enjoy a cold one are few and far between.
Needless to say, when people try to stop me from enjoying a beer I get a little upset. So when I heard about recent developments in the Florida state senate aimed to prohibit the sale of half-gallon “growlers” at microbreweries (among other ridiculous stipulations state beer laws include) I felt compelled to write.
Microbreweries have infiltrated my life in a beautiful way over the past few years. Whether it’s the locally run Swamp Head, my hometown’s Cigar City or Capital brewing from the frozen tundras of Wisconsin, beer brewed in smaller batches is undoubtedly better.
I’ll never say I’m good enough to turn down a Natural Light (if strictly for the nostalgic purposes of reminiscing on underage drinking), but I’m proud to shell out a couple extra dollars for a little less of something that’s a little more tasty. (I also don’t feel a need to slam 12 beers down in a night anymore. I’ll do it, but I won’t be happy about it in the morning.)
So what’s the deal with these laws?
If you’ve ever been to a microbrewery, you’ve probably heard of a “growler,” a glass jug that the brewery will gladly fill up for you to take some of their delicious hoppiness back home with you. This is because many microbreweries are not financially capable of selling their beer through large distributors. Essentially, current laws allow for growlers up to 32 ounces and gallon-sized growlers, but not half-gallon growlers. According to the Tampa Bay Times, “Fans say the half-gallon — equal to four, 16-ounce servings — is ideal for home consumption in a day,” and continues,“Only Florida, Idaho and Mississippi forbid craft beer to be sold in the half-gallon size.”
What this all boils down to is that large beer distributors in the state are pushing for SB1714 to not allow the convenience of purchasing a growler at your microbrewery of choice because they want to stifle competition. The Tampa Bay Times, among other state news sources, reported that the Florida Beer Wholesalers Association is the group backing the bill that would keep restrictions on Florida microbrews and have been able to sway the state senate through additional campaign funding.
While SB1714 would allow breweries that sell up to 2,000 kegs a year to sell growlers of any size, it would ensure that any brewery that sold more than 2,000 kegs of beer a year would have to go through a distributor to sell any beer in bottles or cans.
To put that in perspective, Tampa-based microbrewery Cigar City Brewing sells about 100,000 kegs of beer a year, 50 times the amount stipulated in the bill. While that may sound like a lot, Cigar City founder and CEO Joey Redner has said to think about Anheuser Busch, which sells about 100 million kegs of beer a year. The limit is just not enough but is also placed low enough to ensure that large beer distributors maintain control of the market.
Via: dostalalley.com
According to the Florida Brewers Guild, Florida microbreweries account for about five percent of the total beer sold in the state. However, they account for about 85 to 90 percent of all beer-related jobs in the state. I’m no economist, but something tells me loosening up restrictions on microbreweries would be incredibly beneficial to Florida’s economy.
My suggestion to big beer companies is to simply make a better product if they’re interested in retaining such control of the market. Sure, Budweiser makes seriously great commercials of puppies and horses and America, but it was also featured on a list I recently saw of eight beers I should stop drinking immediately. Also on the list were Corona Extra, Miller Lite, Coors Light and Michelob Ultra. (To any hipster friends of mine, I’m sorry but PBR was also included on this list. Also, not stoked about Guinness having fish bladder in it.)
I’m sure a bunch of people aren’t necessarily scared of the GMOs in their food, but I’d rather have a better quality beer that doesn’t need a bunch of genetically modified shit in it that has the potential to give me whatever the disease of the day is 30 years from now.
So if you know what’s good for business, your health and your beautiful state of Florida, keep up with these laws that are trying to fuck with the sales of small breweries. They’ll affect you in one way or another.
Your homies at Swamp Head Brewery have got you covered if you’re interested in writing to some politicians to try to effect change.
If for nothing else, do it for the love of beer.
Featured photo courtesy of: AllGatesBrewery
