Wednesday, February 2, 2011

The Times They Need a-Changin'


So recently I just read that the great state of Texas is once again(3rd time is a charm?)attempting to change their brewery distribution laws. House Bill 602 which is sponsored by Rep. Jessica Farrarr(D-Houston) will allow breweries to distribute a limited amount of beer after brewery tours and charge varying amounts for tours to cover the cost.

It's that simple. And that is all we ask here in Louisiana. Currently Louisiana breweries are not allowed to sell beer from their own brewery. Everything must go through the distributor. Imagine if breweries were allowed to sell growlers and a limited amount of beer from the brewery. This would bring in extra income for these breweries which could mean extra income for more equipment which means more beer which means more jobs. The state and the people of Louisiana would benefit from this change in distribution law. Wineries in Louisiana can self distribute why not breweries?

So what is it going to take to get something like this passed? First, all the breweries here in Louisiana will need to unite under one organization. A Louisiana Brewers Guild. With all the breweries we are starting to see pop up in Louisiana the Guild could pull some serious weight. Especially with Abita which is the 15th largest craft brewery in the country. Second, the distributors need to realize that this will not take any money away from them but actually benefit them in the long run. A more successful brewery equals a more successful distributor.

So now we need to find a state representative to take on this huge task? Any takers? Come on breweries and distributors! We need you guys to work together to get this law changed and make Louisiana a better place for local craft beer! This needs to be your goal for 2011!

Cheers!

The Beer Buddha

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Do you know whether any steps have been taken in the past to make these types of changes? I'm an attorney who is interested in getting involved, but before I spend too much time or energy researching the feasibility of generating this type of change in the legislature I'd like to find out whether it has been attempted before.

The Beer Buddha said...

As far as I know it has not been attempted before. Please email me and we can set up a meeting along with Dan Stein and Polly Watts to talk further if you're interested.

Cheers!

BB