750 Reviews, Stupid Beer Laws, and More Beer Choice for Georgia
Mar 06 '03
The Bottom Line If you live in Georgia, you can help change the state's archaic beer law.
Well. It’s been a long ride, my friends, but here we are at review number 750, a milestone I suppose but perhaps one of dubious distinction. I have never been able to figure out why we ascribe such significance to certain round numbers like 100, 500, and of course 750. Just what makes these numbers so special anyway? What was wrong with review 42? Now there was a good one. Or how about 337? Took a lot of work to get to 337, after all. “Welcome all to review 453, and thanks for reading! I’d like to thank my mom, and my friend Dave, and my dog Skip, and all the other people without whom I never would have made it here….”
Ahem. Anyway, it seems to be the custom to commemorate such markers with something a bit special, and I intend to do exactly that. Specifically, I’m going to talk about Stupid Beer Laws! and one in particular that, if you live in Georgia, I need your help with.
Many states have stupid beer laws. Growing up in Rhode Island, the first one I came across was the restriction on alcohol sales on Sundays. Oh sure, you certainly could buy a beer, a glass of wine, or a shot of liquor in a restaurant or bar. But if you wanted to pick up a six-pack to watch the game at home with, you were out of luck. Does this make sense? Not to me.
Of course, Rhode Island isn’t alone in this; many states have such laws. It is my contention that they are unconstitutional, because they violate the First Amendment prohibition against sate-sponsored religion. Clearly, the Sunday sales restrictions are based upon the Christian Sabbath, much as the old blue laws were that prevented most retail businesses from operating on Sundays.
Of course, other religions have Sabbaths too: for Hebrews it is Saturday, for Muslims Friday. By enforcing liquor laws on Sundays that they don’t enforce on other days, certain states are technically advocating one religion over others. This is forbidden by the constitution.
But there are other crazy beer laws. In Connecticut, all of the liquor stores must close by eight PM. While this is a boon for those who sell packaged alcohol along the Massachusetts and Rhode Island line, it only hurts Connecticut consumers. Drive a little further down I-95 to Pennsylvania and you’ll find one of the strangest beer laws of all. There, beer is sold mostly in case lots only. If you want to buy a six-pack, you’ll need to head over to a bar or restaurant, where you can purchase beer for take-out. Be warned though: you may pay dearly for it.
Some states limit the alcohol level of their beer. In Utah and Oklahoma, beer can’t exceed 3.2% by volume when sold it certain establishments. Here in Georgia, beer can’t have a strength of more than 6% by volume. If you live in Georgia, however, you can help change this. A group of concerned beer drinkers is trying to get the law changed. Here’s how the law stands now and how it would be amended:
"(13) 'Malt beverage' means any alcoholic beverage obtained by the fermentation of any infusion or decoction of barley, malt, hops, or any other similar product, or any combination of such products in water, containing not more than 6 percent alcohol by volume and including ale, porter, brown, stout, lager beer, small beer, and strong beer.
House bill 645 would strike everything from “containing not more than 6% alcohol by volume” on, and allow stronger beers to be sold in Georgia. This has been tried before, but has been shot down by some in the legislature that argue stronger beers would increase the incidence of teenage drinking. This is, of course, ridiculous: no kid is going to pay $7 for a bottle of Chimay when he can easily buy Mad Dog 20/20 in Georgia for $4 or so.
Rather, the law would allow Georgia microbrewers a greater latitude in the styles they could brew, and allow for a wide variety of imported beers to be brought into the state. As it stands now, many Georgia beer lovers drive to other states to get their strong beer.
If you live in Georgia, Georgians for World Class Beer, a local consumer group and the driving force behind House Bill 645 suggests Georgia residents help by doing the following:
1) Go to http://www.vote-smart.org/ and click CURRENT ELECTED OFFICIALS at
the TOP of the page. Or, you can go directly to
http://www.vote-smart.org/official_president.php
2) Look on the LEFT side column for FIND YOUR REPRESENTATIVE.
3) Type in the NINE (9) digit Zip Code for where you live. If you don't know
the last four digits, there is a link on the site that will help you.
4) Once you enter your Zip Code and click GO, you will get a page that gives
you a list of names of elected officials. Scroll down a little and you'll
see GEORGIA
SENATE and GEORGIA HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
5) There is a link for each name and each link will take you to a page that
has phone contact information for your elected officials. The page may have
e-mail contact information, but not all elected officials have publicly
listed e-mail addresses.
Here are some points GFWCB suggests you reference to your representative:
1) What we are talking about is "gourmet beer." It'll come up on its own,
but when we dive in talking about "strong," "higher alcohol," etc. beers,
it's too easy to turn that into "high octane" or some other sensationalist
phrase. So, stick with "Gourmet".
2) Georgia is in the minority on this issue. A total of 38 states and the
District of Columbia do not limit beer sales like Georgia does.
3) Georgia currently loses sales and tax revenue to both Florida and
Tennessee, which allow gourmet beers to be sold.
4) Existing brands will not become stronger in Georgia as a result of this
change. Roughly 97% of the beer sold in the U. S. fits into a category
called "light lager." Alcohol laws vary from state to state. Yet these beers
do not vary from state to state, because producing them at a higher alcohol
content would raise the cost to the consumer and decrease sales.
5) Gourmet beers are expensive. The same quantity of alcohol costs 5 to 10
times as much in a gourmet beer as in beers and spirits already on Georgia
shelves. Even a recent study by the Center for Alcohol and Substance Abuse
at Columbia University stated that price is the key deterrent to alcohol
consumption.
6) Georgia can only win from this change. Removing this Prohibition-era
restriction will allow Georgia to benefit from gaining sales lost to
neighboring states. Our image as an international destination will improve
with both foreign and American visitors.
Stupid beer laws can be changed. Not long ago, it was illegal in Rhode Island for liquor storeowners to advertise their prices. That changed when one courageous owner challenged the laws on the basis that they violated his constitutionally guaranteed right of free speech. He took his case all the way up to the United States Supreme Court. And you know what? He won. We can get the law in Georgia changed too, but only with your help. If you live in Georgia, please write your representative today.
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Member: John Staradumsky
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