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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. It would mandate, however, that the beer could only be purchased in a single container — a growler, say, or one 12-ounce bottle of beer.
The new version would still bar direct sales, something brewers really wanted. Instead, breweries could charge for a tour and, depending on how much someone pays, the tour could include that container of beer as a free souvenir — up to the limits. Additionally, the state’s brew pubs would be able to sell a growler of beer to eat-in customers, who could then seal the bottle and take what they don’t drink home.
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 past three weeks by Senate Regulated Industries and Utilities Committee Chairman Rick Jeffares, R-McDonough.
“I’m disappointed in that I feel like it’s not exactly what we wanted, but I am extremely thankful to Chairman Jeffares and his leadership in getting this to the next step,” said Monday Night Brewing’s Joel Iverson, who has been among those pushing for the bill.
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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