Lawmakers gave Georgia craft brewers a political reality check Friday, although it came with committee approval for legislation giving them some ability to get more beer into the hands of customers.
A much altered version of Senate Bill 63 would allow 36 ounces of beer to be consumed "on-premise" of a brewery and up to 64 ounces of beer to be taken home. However, it mandates that the beer could only be purchased in a single container — a growler, say, or one 12-ounce bottle of beer.
It also technically still bars direct sales. Instead, breweries could charge for a tour and, depending how much someone pays, the tour could include a free souvenir of beer — up to the limits — so that the alcohol is technically free.
The original version of the bill would have explicitly allowed direct sales, with looser limits: 72 ounces of beer to drink “on-premise” and up to 144 ounces to take home. In layman’s terms, these were daily limits equivalent to 4 1/2 pints on tap and a 12-pack to go, respectively.
Brewers supported the original proposal but faced an uphill battle with the state's wholesalers, who wanted no part of allowing direct sales. The new version of the bill is a trade-off hammered out over the last three weeks by Senate Regulated Industries and Utilities Committee Chairman Rick Jeffares, R-McDonough.
With approval from Jeffares’ committee Friday, the bill now heads to the powerful Senate Rules Committee which will decide whether it will get a full floor vote in the Senate.
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