Omnivore - Brewers and distributors present Beer Jobs Bill arguments at Senate hearing

The Senate Reg. Industries and Utilities Committee meeting is packed as we hear from @Hunter1Hill about SB 63 #gapol pic.twitter.com/mDUwtEwKK0
— Senate Press Office (@GASenatePress) February 18, 2015

Room 310 of the Coverdell Legislative Office Building in downtown Atlanta was completely packed on Wednesday afternoon, when more than 75 beer industry members showed up to make arguments for and against Senate Bill 63. Known as the Beer Jobs Bill, SB 63 aims to allow brewpubs to sell up to 144 ounces of beer on-premise, per person, per day, for off-premise consumption. (Think: 2 growlers, or the equivalent of a 12 pack.) The bill would also allow for 144 ounces of on-premise sales for off-premise consumption at breweries (growlers, bottles, cans, etc.), as well as 72 ounces of on-premises consumption at breweries (the equivalent of half a dozen 12-ounce pours). Under current laws, Georgia brewpubs can sell beer in-house but not to-go, and Georgia breweries can’t sell beer to anyone except their distributor.

Each side—brewers and wholesalers—was given 20 minutes to present its case via pre-chosen speakers. A vote scheduled for next week has been pushed back to the 26th day of the session, which will happen sometime in the first week of March. The bill has to pass through committee and a floor vote by Crossover Day (March 13) if it’s to stay alive this session.

State Sen. Hunter Hill (R-Smyrna) kicked off the hearing by walking through the bill’s language and answering questions from Regulated Industries Committee members. “As legislators, we often get blamed as being for big business,” he began. “We rely on lobbyists a lot to help us understand the facts of the industry, and many times, it’s the largest businesses that are able to afford lobbyists. But that’s not our intention. Our intention is to help all Georgians. I know I’m not alone in wanting to help small business, and this bill does just that.”

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Hill likened SB 63 and its intended effects to that of “a record label picking up a band who has a lot of people coming to their shows.” Furthering the analogy, he said that Georgia breweries are like bands who aren’t allowed to play live shows. Hill also said that Georgia is “at a competitive disadvantage” when it comes to beer laws compared to neighboring states. Citing Sierra Nevada’s new location in North Carolina and Stone’s upcoming Virginia location, Hill said “you would have to be not smart to choose Georgia under our current laws in terms of starting a craft brewery here.”

State Sen. Frank Ginn (R-Danielsville) said he thought 72 ounces is too many, though he has no problem with consumers leaving the property with 144 ounces to-go. “I think this could lead to more drinking and driving,” he said, suggesting that the on-premise amount stay at the current limit of 32 ounces.

Representatives from several Georgia breweries—5 Seasons, BlueTarp, Cherry Street, Creature Comforts, Eventide, Monday Night, O’Dempsey’s, Reformation, Second Self, Terrapin, Three Taverns, and Wild Heaven—attended the hearing. Some, alongside consumer advocates, spoke in support of the bill, including an impassioned plea from Creature Comforts CEO Chris Herron and a thorough statistical analysis of the effect of progressive beer legislation in nearby states from Brewers Association staff economist Bart Watson.

David Larkworthy of 5 Seasons brought a physical stack of 5,000 petitions with him, signed by customers at all three 5S locations. (These were in addition to the 17,000+ signatures on GABeerJobs.com, he noted.) He said that consumers walk into all three 5S locations every day and ask for growlers. He also mentioned that, since 5 Seasons is the only place in the world where you can enjoy 5 Seasons beer, that SB 63 “will actually cut down on DUIs coming from brewpubs.”

On the distributor side, Georgia Beer Wholesalers Association president (and Eagle Rock Distributing Co. CEO) Steve Economos and assistant director Martin Smith were first up. Economos chose to focus on “the positives of this industry,” noting that “craft breweries are opening at an accelerated rate” under the current system. But he also noted, when asked by State Sen. Steve Henson (D-Tucker), that the passing of SB 63 would not cost Eagle Rock jobs or hurt Eagle Rock’s sales volume to retailers.

Smith argued similarly, noting that under the current system, Georgia has grown from 14 to 40 craft breweries in the last 5 years. “If you want to be specific about these other states,” Smith said, pointing out that Georgia makes more beer than most of its neighbors, “it’s not just that states that touch us have different rules. They should be looking at us and saying, ‘Why aren’t we more like Georgia?’”

The line got a big laugh from the crowd.

Sen. Ginn responded by mentioning that when he visits places like Asheville, N.C., “a haven for craft brewers” where the businesses are allowed to sell direct, that their “very small organizations” have “a lot more employees per quantity of beer purchased.” He also said he thought Georgia is missing “a good tourism opportunity” by not allowing breweries to sell their beer directly to customers.

Debbie Hinton—and her son, Jake Hinton—of Locust Grove liquor retailer, Z & Z Package Store, also spoke against the bill. Debbie says that the three-tier system works and that “distributors are already buying as much liquid as these breweries can produce.” (Nancy Palmer of the Georgia Craft Brewers Guild tells Creative Loafing that this statement is “absolutely false.”)

Meanwhile, Georgia beer lovers were calling for boycotts of Z & Z during the hearing.

Hinton’s son, Jake, also spoke. Jake’s company, Bootleg Beverages, works to register beer, wine, and liquor brands in Georgia and then find them “a home amongst a network of statewide distributors looking to grow their product lines.” He said this business gives him a unique perspective and that “Georgia’s three-tier system in its current form is one of the most equitable and beneficial for all parties involved.”

Paradoxically, though, apparently even he would like to buy beer directly from breweries.

“In a perfect world, I would love to be able to go to my local brewery and walk out with a six pack,” he said. “But we don’t live in a perfect world.”