E-Malt.com News article: USA, AL: More craft beers to be sold in Alabama due to new law

Alabamians will soon have a larger selection of craft beers to choose from, thanks to a bill passed by the Legislature and signed into law earlier this year, Oanow.com reported on July, 31.

Senate Bill 294, also known as the Gourmet Bottle Bill, allows beer to be sold in containers as large as 25.4 ounces beginning August, 1. Before the bill, beer couldn’t be sold in containers larger than 16 ounces in Alabama.

Gabe Harris, president of the nonprofit organization Free The Hops, said many upscale craft beers are sold in 22-ounce containers. The new law will allow more of these craft beers to be sold in Alabama.

In addition to a wider selection of beer, the new law will also help Alabama breweries sell more of their product, Harris said. He added that brewers receive a higher profit margin when bottling beer in larger containers.

“It’s been a long time coming,” Harris said. “Alabama was the last state with this restriction, so it will be on par … with other great craft beer states.”

Free The Hops, founded in 2004, has lobbied for reforming certain Alabama beer laws during recent legislative sessions. In addition to the Gourmet Bottle Bill, the Legislature voted to allow higher-gravity beers to be sold in the state in 2009, while lawmakers approved legislation allowing breweries to serve beer on their premises in 2011.

Harris said Free The Hops has accomplished its main goals, but he believes other changes to the state’s beer laws can be achieved. Harris said he would like to see the state legalize the sale and use of growlers — large glass jugs that are used to transport beer — to take “to-go” beer from breweries.

“It’s a great way for people to come and try local craft beer that’s not packaged in bottles or cans,” Harris said. “We’re surrounded by states that allow it. All the great craft beer states allow you to go into a brewery, get a glass growler, buy a craft beer to go and then bring that glass growler back and exchange it for another growler.”

He said allowing growlers in the state will also help Alabama brewers be more competitive with out-of-state breweries.

Harris would also like to see Alabama legalize home brewing of beer. Alabama and Mississippi are the only two states where home brewing is illegal, according to the American Homebrewers Association.

Harris said Free The Hops will continue to seek input from its members on other changes they would like to see to Alabama’s beer laws.

“There are still things out there that we can do to make Alabama an even better craft-beer state,” he said.



01 August, 2012