GA legislatards

[AZBeerNut]

Hopefully the right forum?

GA legislatards stifle the free marketplace yet again. The craft beer industry is booming in nearby SC... bringing all sorts of revenue to the state from growing small businesses allowed to generate cash flow in house. But no... not in GA... we're too bass ackwards for that sort of thinking. We must keep those evil small businesses down so the big corporate distributors can continue to line GA legislatards' campaign troughs...

Decent article here, with surely more to follow in the news: http://www.macon.com/2014/02/16/2941894/to-dismay-of-craft-brewers-ga.html

 

[thatjonguy]

Someday you will. I pushed with a few other guys in ND last year and got it passed without much of a fight. We ended up working with the ND Beer Distributor's Association to draw up something that we all could agree on.

It boiled down to them acknowledging that it helps grow businesses and my testimony that I don't want to be delivering beer and cleaning lines everywhere. That at some point it makes better business sense to utilize a distributor.

 

[AZBeerNut]

Yeah, dunno when "someday" might happen though. The distributors are a big lobby and the craft brew community has been losing for years. I'm with you... I don't understand the logic. Allowing brewers some in-house sales generates cash flow they need to expand... which ultimately creates business for the distributors in the long term. Unfortunately, short sighted thinking continues to rule the day, free market principles are shunned...... and the craft brew industry continues to move to other nearby states. I'll be living in North Carolina soon... but it irks me Georgia continues to legislate against the free marketplace when it comes to craft beer. Shrug.

 

[Spoonmann]

Also I've never understood why I can go to a GA winery and buy wine directly from them, but not directly from a brewery... What is the logic there?

 

[Homercidal]

Small steps. Most states have statutes that most beer people would like to improve upon. It looks like the Guv in GA is in favor of growler sales, which is still a nice thing to have. Maybe in a few years, or under different leadership, they will add retail bottle sales from the brewery taproom. Give it time and keep lobbying!