Florida Growler Laws
Being able to sell the 64-ounce growler won`t do or break the business of a craft brewery, but it does provide additional revenue. For macrobreweries, this means more competition, as consumers now have another way to consume beer at home. At the time of sale, producers must have an intact seal or cannot be consumed immediately. All growlers must have a label that includes the following information: Manufacturer, brand, alcohol expected by value (ABV) Florida craft brewers have been fighting to change this law for years, and now we can finally breathe a sigh of relief as the industry`s standard 64-ounce growler is legalized. Big Beer is also trying to undermine craft beer in other states. In 2013, Texas passed a sales restriction that requires craft breweries to give away their distribution rights (which can be worth millions) to merchants for free. Incredibly, these distributors can resell those same rights and pocket the product. This outright protectionism threatens the future growth of microbreweries. Kentucky has since passed a similar law. In response, three Texas craft brewers and the Institute for Justice filed a lawsuit defending their “property rights and economic freedoms under the Texas Constitution.” Florida just lifted one of the nation`s weirdest alcohol laws: banning half-gallon cups of beer. Under a law signed Thursday by Gov. Rick Scott, the state legalized 64-ounce producers after a year-long legislative battle.
The law will come into force on July 1. Regulators have defended the law as a way to “prevent excessive alcohol consumption.” Still, consumers could still buy two 32-ounce growlers or even a 128-ounce growler, but not the half-gallon used nationwide. It didn`t make sense. According to CBS This Morning, Florida was the only state to ban books. Does that fix that? Can growler filling taps flow freely? A rule waiver is nice, even if you can`t know exactly which rule has been lifted, but something more is needed: new legislation that clearly answers questions about filling producers in Florida. Florida`s refusal to approve 64-ounce growlers, the most popular size in the country, has become the punchline of many jokes. Funky Buddha Brewery: July 64Funky Buddha celebrates the 64-ounce growler all week and all weekend with live music, food trucks, and special outings at super low prices. “Can a 2COP licensee fill growlers (within legal size limits and properly sealed) for off-site consumption?” Then there is the “or”. A growler with a secure hat or swing top is technically “not immediately consumable” – you need to open it first! Is a secondary seal really necessary? `The growler must affix an imprint or label containing information indicating the name of the manufacturer, the brand and the intended alcohol content of the malted beverage.
The container must be sealed without breaking or cannot be consumed immediately. Can a beer bar in Florida fill growlers? Can a brewery in Florida fill growlers with guest beers? Now what about Florida? Could we recommend that you read some handy features of Craft Brewing Business? The ABT memo contains a list of license types that are not bottled by growlers, as they are limited to on-site consumption only. This list does not include the 2COP license, which allows the sale of beer and wine for consumption outside the premises. The implication is clear: since it is not on the ABT “no growler filling” list, the 2COP license allows the holder to fill growler with his own beer or guest beer. The consensus among those I spoke to is that the “or” in this part indicates that an authorized brewery or retailer will be able to fill any legally large growler, even if it has another company`s logo or no logo at all, as long as a sticker with “the manufacturer`s name, brand and expected percentage of alcohol by volume are appropriate. A hang tag with the information may also suffice. But because the law does not dictate the form of the label, it is open to interpretation. The law eventually legalized the 64-ounce growler in Florida. The law allows growlers — containers that are filled at the point of sale — in three sizes: 32 ounces, 64 ounces and 128 ounces. It also allows breweries to sell beer in the popular 64-ounce refillable growler. The current law allows producers of 32 and 128 ounces, but not the size in the middle that brewers and craft beer lovers say is the best size to buy the increasingly popular beers. “We get people who bring 64-ounce producers from other states, and I had to turn them down because we weren`t allowed to fill them.
I don`t need to do that anymore,” said Nick Schmidt, owner of Old Soul. Florida was one of the 3 states in the country where the 64-ounce growler is banned.
