E-Malt.com News article: USA, GA: Georgia craft brewers one step closer to selling their beer on site

Georgia craft brewers last week got one step closer to realizing their goal of being able to sell the beer they brew on site, Savannah Now reported.

The Georgia Senate voted 49-2 on February 2 to adopt Senate Bill 85, which would provide for the state’s breweries to sell up to 3,000 barrels of beer each year directly to their consumers. The legislation is now headed to the state House of Representatives for consideration.

If approved by the House, the legislation would be a major win for the state’s 45 active craft breweries, said Carly Wiggins, the marketing and sales director of Savannah’s Southbound Brewing Co. and current president and membership chair of the Georgia Craft Brewers Guild.

Representatives of Georgia’s craft breweries have attempted to broaden the legislation that governs their business for several years. The Peach State is now among the last in the union to limit direct sales to customers at local breweries, but it won’t be for long if the new legislation gets the governor’s signature this year.

If it’s signed by the governor, the bill would be effective Sept. 1.

Wiggins said that under the law approved by the Senate this week, a consumer can come purchase pints and flights at their local brewery and then buy up to a case of beer each day to take home.

“Realistically, the amount of beer being taken home is a small percentage,” she wrote in an email. “However, the ability to finally sell product is going to keep some of the struggling breweries alive.”

Indeed, Kevin Ryan, the CEO of Savannah’s Service Brewing Co., said on February 2 that being able to sell directly to consumers could mean the difference between success and failure for a newly founded brewing company. Three thousand barrels may not be a lot for an established brewery, he said, but it means a lot to those whose jobs and revenues depend on it.

“For the state, and for people looking to start breweries in the state, this is a great step forward,” he said. “It generates more jobs, it generates more tax for the city and the state and it’s better for small business in the state. One job at a brewery supports 64 jobs in the industry — from the people who grow the malt we use and the hops we use, to the people who deliver the beer.”

Wiggins said that currently it takes breweries in the state about five years to break even. Under Georgia’s existing regulations, which limit breweries to offering free tours and souvenir samples, the state’s craft breweries are at a disadvantage in terms of profit and the amount of people employed in the industry.

In Colorado — a state with a similar drinking population —the more advanced beer laws have created an industry that employs more than 10 times the craft beer industry in Georgia, Wiggins said. The change being considered by Georgia’s lawmakers would help local breweries catch up.

Chris Haborak, who with his brother, Kevin, co-founded Coastal Empire Beer Co. in Savannah, said he hopes the legislation moves as quickly through the House as it did through the Senate. The neighboring states of South Carolina and Florida already have laws on the books that allow for the sale of beers in their tap rooms, he said, and similar legislation in Georgia would be good for the state’s small businesses.

“Breweries in surrounding states use the funds from their tastings rooms to expand, hire additional sales force members, create more unique beers, etc,” said Wiggins. “The overflow of growth benefits everyone down the line. A brewery that can afford to have a sales team, will of course sell more beer in the market. This means the distributor sells more beer to the retailer. The retailer gets more assistance from the direct brewery sales representative and there is more flexibility for promotions and events.”

There is also more time for brewers to get creative and develop new products, Wiggins said, which makes the legislation an all-around win.

Along with the provisions for breweries, the legislation adopted by the Senate this week leaves it to the local level to determine whether brewpubs, as well, should be granted the ability to sell beer to-go. Wiggins said the state’s existing brewpubs have already broached the issue with elected officials in their local governments.

Assuming the legislation passes — it currently has the support of the Craft Brewers Guild, the Georgia Beer Wholesalers Association, the Georgia Municipal Association, the Association County Commissioners of Georgia and the Georgia Restaurant Association — it will serve as a major starting point for other legislation the Craft Brewers Guild is preparing to better assist the state’s diverse breweries, Wiggins said.

“I think this is, most importantly, something that was brought forward and demonstrated the beer wholesalers and the brewers guild getting together to find common ground,” Ryan added. “We’re very confident that this law will get some legs this year. There’s still plenty of room for Georgia to continue to progress, but we can’t do it overnight. I’m all for taking baby steps and saying, ‘Let’s get this progress done, see how we all do, see how everybody manages.’”


06 February, 2017