Oregon [AKA beervana] has two really annoying laws. All bottled (and most kegs) alcoholic beverages are required to go through distributers. This is called the three-tier law. Makes for a nice fat profit of the distributers for d@mn-all and jacks the prices up for everyone. Really hurts the small operators. The other amazed me. You have to fill out four pages of paperwork to buy a keg, then they put a tracking number on it! In theory, the blue-noses know exactly who has purchased kegs, how many and when.
Another involves getting bottle labels approved. Mark at Golden Valley explained this to me once, but as I was sampling his Black Panther Imperial Stout and making comparisons between the pre-aged and the merlot cask-aged and the bottled and ... I forget. But, the point was, it was such a hassle to get labels approved that sometimes he just sells unlabeled bottles at the brewery.
No wonder there are so many brewpubs.
Another involves getting bottle labels approved. Mark at Golden Valley explained this to me once, but as I was sampling his Black Panther Imperial Stout and making comparisons between the pre-aged and the merlot cask-aged and the bottled and ... I forget. But, the point was, it was such a hassle to get labels approved that sometimes he just sells unlabeled bottles at the brewery.
No wonder there are so many brewpubs.