Pennsylvania Drinkers Call To Action

Senate Bill 674 is up for a vote in the state senate. It would allow 6, 12 and 18 packs to be sold at distributors. Be sure to write your state senator to let them know you support the bill. You can find out there email address here:

http://www.congress.org/congressorg/home/

Depending on your district, you might need to know the extra 4 numbers of your zipcode which you can find here:

http://zip4.usps.com/zip4/welcome.jsp

Spread the word.

Ooh thanks for the heads up!

Pat vance has been contacted.

I feel bad though, sure I want six packs but think of all the kids who will be drinking now..

I think it's limited to 12 packs or greater.

Read the bill itself
A related article

This article mentions the six pack, but we never believe anybody from that side of the state...

Still, this is HUGE for PA. Having grown up there, I can attest to the absolutely horrendous liquor control laws. Any reform that makes it a little easier for the legal adult to buy his/her beverage of choice is good!

sorry Yuri I had not found the actual bill I was going off articles and what I heard on the radio.

I agree this is a step forward.

I would love to see it happen and was discussing a very similar thing with my distributor about mixed cases and partials. I just can't see it happening here.....

brewt00l said:

I would love to see it happen and was discussing a very similar thing with my distributor about mixed cases and partials. I just can't see it happening here.....

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If you don't tell them how you feel then there is no chance it will happen.

Todd said:

If you don't tell them how you feel then there is no chance it will happen.

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That's not really the problem.....if it was just a matter of what the population of the state desired, this wouldn't even be an issue. Ask yourself why things are this way in the first place.

brewt00l said:

That's not really the problem.....if it was just a matter of what the population of the state desired, this wouldn't even be an issue. Ask yourself why things are this way in the first place.

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$$$$$$

I know it pisses me off also.

Edit:

The people of this state have go to start standing up for what we want. We have too many career politicians who are in business's pocket. If we start pushing for what we want and work to vote them out when we don't get it, things will get better. Unfortunately most of this stuff takes place without a lot of public knowledge.

Then the activist groups come up with this crap about keeping alcohol away from kids. This is just ludicris. yet the population buys it.

You're right it is just 12 packs, but that's a start.

Todd said:

$$$$$$

I know it pisses me off also.

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Pisses me off, too but I wrote to Senator Jay Costa anyway.

This particular piece has very little to do with $$ (won't take money from the state monopoly, since they don't sell beer anyway), so maybe it has a shot.

Woo hoo! Turns out some of us are wrong. The bill did originally include only 12 packs, but was amended to include 6 packs as well:

http://www.legis.state.pa.us/CFDOCS...d=0&billBody=S&billTyp=B&billNbr=0674&pn=1102

Bike N Brew said:

Pisses me off, too but I wrote to Senator Jay Costa anyway.

This particular piece has very little to do with $$ (won't take money from the state monopoly, since they don't sell beer anyway), so maybe it has a shot.

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sorry the money I was refering too is the bar community who stands to lose thier strangle hold on six pack sales. I'm sure the bar lobyists are up in arms and they have a huge influence. I didn't mean tax revenue. Sorry for not being more clear.

Put it this way (as an ex-PA'er myself) --

Would you rather be able to grab a sixer out of any bar on any corner, or have to seek out a distributor (in some rural counties, the nearest one may be 15 miles away)?

I'll take the bar, as I know there's one just about everywhere, and rarely farther from my house than a distributor. Sure, it's more expensive at the bart, but it's also why a can of soda at the convenience store is a dollar when you can get it at wal-mart for like 15c each. You pay for the convenience of getting what you want without having to go somewhere farther away to get it.

jezter6 said:

Put it this way (as an ex-PA'er myself) --

Would you rather be able to grab a sixer out of any bar on any corner, or have to seek out a distributor (in some rural counties, the nearest one may be 15 miles away)?

I'll take the bar, as I know there's one just about everywhere, and rarely farther from my house than a distributor. Sure, it's more expensive at the bart, but it's also why a can of soda at the convenience store is a dollar when you can get it at wal-mart for like 15c each. You pay for the convenience of getting what you want without having to go somewhere farther away to get it.

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Are you saying you don't want the distributor to be allowed to sell them so you can still get it at a bar? No one is preventing the bar from continuing to sell them.

I don't understand?

Todd said:

Are you saying you don't want the distributor to be allowed to sell them so you can still get it at a bar? No one is preventing the bar from continuing to sell them.

I don't understand?

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I'm sorry. I didn't read the article, but often it's a one or the other thing. Living and visiting in multiple states, I see some much worse beer laws than PA. So, I like to chime in and defend what we have, because it's not really that bad.

I don't think the bars will mind. They have the convenience factor, plus the bill raises their limit to 18 beers (12 oz) which would cut into distributor sales. Bars can sell more and distributors can sell less. I suspect the people who will take the most advantage of the distributor 6 pk sales are customers who are already picking up a case/keg of something and then add a extra 6 pk to what they get. I don't think that will cut into waht the bars sell.

jezter6 said:

I'm sorry. I didn't read the article, but often it's a one or the other thing. Living and visiting in multiple states, I see some much worse beer laws than PA. So, I like to chime in and defend what we have, because it's not really that bad.

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Ok. All this is really doing is reducing the size of the "case" that can be purchased. I should say the minimum size. It also increases the max a bar can sell, up to 3 six packs I think now. It is freeing up the beer laws a bit which should be good for everyone.

Agreed. This may be one of the (few) good laws for consumers.

I always hated the 2 sixpack rule at the bar anyways, because my friend (the only 21 year old in the group) had to run in like 3 times to buy beer. Not that 3 helps too much, but it's better than 2.

Is there anything in the law about single bottle sales? I know down here you can pick up a bunch of random bottles, don't have to equal 6 or nothing. It's nice to just hit the micro shelf and pick a couple of random bottles you feel like experimenting with...without having 5 of them left over because they sucked.

Singles are allowed somehow. I'm just not sure what those rules are. There's a place locally that you can buy individual bottles. Of course they cost $4 - $8 each.

FWIW, check out this thread
http://beeradvocate.com/forum/read/1023360

...with contributions from both a distributor, brewer and bottle shop/bar owner's POV. Interesting mention of supermarkets considering Wegmans and Acme have made it public they want to obtain liquor licenses.

I hope it goes through. I don't see how it can be bad for the consumer or craft brewers trying to get their beer out to new consumers.

I'm a Maryland native, so I'm a bit spoiled when it comes to sheer variety and availability. Fortunately there's a nice liquor store in Westminster, only 20 mins from me.

FireBrewer said:

I hope it goes through. I don't see how it can be bad for the consumer or craft brewers trying to get their beer out to new consumers.

I'm a Maryland native, so I'm a bit spoiled when it comes to sheer variety and availability. Fortunately there's a nice liquor store in Westminster, only 20 mins from me.

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course, then you are aware that places like Capone's & the Beer Yard get Marylanders coming up quite a bit to stock up on our better selection.

brewt00l said:

course, then you are aware that places like Capone's & the Beer Yard get Marylanders coming up quite a bit to stock up on our better selection.

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Next time I'm near Philly I'm stopping in!!

jezter6 said:

I see some much worse beer laws than PA.

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Where? Been to most states, and can't remember any where the consumer's choice is so artificially liimted.

FireBrewer said:

Next time I'm near Philly I'm stopping in!!

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You have to check out the superb beer resources in the Phila metro..Monks, Eulogy, the Grey Lodge, Capone's, Sly Fox, Dock Street, Victory, Nodding Head, The Beer Yard Shangy's & Weyerbacker (not really phila metro but out in Emaus & Easton)..ect..ect.

Bike N Brew said:

Where? Been to most states, and can't remember any where the consumer's choice is so artificially liimted.

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Must be a Pittsburgh thing....I can't say that I have much of a problem with variety and selection in my area. Course, you go out into the more rural areas around here and your choices are limited but that is a function of the market more than anything.

brewt00l said:

You have to check out the superb beer resources in the Phila metro..Monks, Eulogy, the Grey Lodge, Capone's, Sly Fox, Dock Street, Victory, Nodding Head, The Beer Yard Shangy's & Weyerbacker (not really phila metro but out in Emaus & Easton)..ect..ect.

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Victory is a must! Been there about 5 times myself. Been to Sly Fox too, nice place, good beer.

brewt00l said:

Must be a Pittsburgh thing....I can't say that I have much of a problem with variety and selection in my area. Course, you go out into the more rural areas around here and your choices are limited but that is a function of the market more than anything.

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Geez, I've been to philly lots of times ...where are those grocery stores where you can buy beer again? And how were you able to get Sunday sales before the rest of the state? And which of your distributors sells liquor, wine AND beer?

Having a few good brewpubs and the occasional specialty bottle shop doesn't change the fact that the state's liquor control laws are onerous. You have less selecton and pay higher prices than you would in nearly any other state. Maybe the situation in Philly is tolerable now...it would be better if we had reasonable alcohol distro laws.

Hell, you can buy beer in the grocery store in UTAH...

Bike N Brew said:

Geez, I've been to philly lots of times ...where are those grocery stores where you can buy beer again? And how were you able to get Sunday sales before the rest of the state? And which of your distributors sells liquor, wine AND beer?

Having a few good brewpubs and the occasional specialty bottle shop doesn't change the fact that the state's liquor control laws are onerous. You have less selecton and pay higher prices than you would in nearly any other state. Maybe the situation in Philly is tolerable now...it would be better if we had reasonable alcohol distro laws.

Hell, you can buy beer in the grocery store in UTAH...

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Convenience/availability is different than choice/variety. My comment was never related to the number of locations or days where you could purchase. Next time you make it out this way you should let me know and I can show you what variety and choice actually are Heck, the beer yard has " 1,370 beers of 109 different beer types from 442 breweries located in 52 countries." and Shangy's boasts over 3,000 brands. If that isn't selection, I dunno what is...

When it comes to convenience and availability I agree with you.

brewt00l said:

Convenience/availability is different than choice/variety. My comment was never related to the number of locations or days where you could purchase. Next time you make it out this way you should let me know and I can show you what variety and choice actually are Heck, the beer yard has " 1,370 beers of 109 different beer types from 442 breweries located in 52 countries." and Shangy's boasts over 3,000 brands. If that isn't selection, I dunno what is...

When it comes to convenience and availability I agree with you.

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Agreed, poor choice of words on my part. Case in point, though...the fact that Philly has two such distributors (and counting Shangy's is a stretch, geographically) is awesome. But can either of them sell you a six-pack, or a single? I mean, what good is a 3000-brand selection if I have to gamble on a whole case every time I want to try a new one?

Bike N Brew said:

Agreed, poor choice of words on my part. Case in point, though...the fact that Philly has two such distributors (and counting Shangy's is a stretch, geographically) is awesome. But can either of them sell you a six-pack, or a single? I mean, what good is a 3000-brand selection if I have to gamble on a whole case every time I want to try a new one?

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Shangy's isn't phila metro as I previously noted but it isn't exactly far outside of it considering the quick trip up 309 to Emaus. You would be surprised at the number of folks that live in the LV that commute to phila for work daily. I am fortunate enough to live right about half way in between both the beer yard and Shangy's so it all good from my POV....I feel a pilgrimage coming on this weekend.

Anyway, I am still right there with you when it comes to distros not being able to break cases. My distro around the corner from my house has cases of things like Bell's Hell Hath No Fury and I would really go for a 6 pack (or 2 at the most) but don't have any desire to purchase an entire case. Personally, I would like to see the laws change and give us all a bit more flexibility.

Bike N Brew said:

Where? Been to most states, and can't remember any where the consumer's choice is so artificially liimted.

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Try going to lunch in Michigan on a Sunday at 11:15am.

Nope, no beer with that appetizer, but if you want to sip sprite for 45 minutes, you're good to grab that beer at 12:00 sharp.

Or the number of blue law states where you can't get ANY alcohol on Sundays.

Or places with 3.2 laws.

Most beer distributors and state stores are closed on Sundays in PA. They just recently began allowing some to remain open.

Bike N Brew said:

Geez, I've been to philly lots of times ...where are those grocery stores where you can buy beer again? And how were you able to get Sunday sales before the rest of the state?

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Beer available in a grocery store...on a Sunday too!

http://vidaliamarketplace.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=19&Itemid=30