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Big Blow Dealt to Craft Breweries in Florida

The Florida state senate has dealt a damaging blow to the craft brewers of Florida. Today, The Senate voted 30-10 to restrict the amount of packaged beer breweries can sell directly to customers. Obviously, craft breweries opposed this law. Currently, there is no limit on how much beer a brewery can directly sell to customers in the state.

The bill (SB 1714) prohibits brewers who produce more than 2,000 kegs of beer a year to sell directly to customers. It requires them to sell to a distributor which raises the cost of the final product. The loss of direct sales would come at a loss to some craft breweries in the neighborhood of $300,000 to $500,000 dollars or more. 

Cigar City Brewing’s Joey Redner has been outspoken against the bill, stating that the bill would stifle brewery growth, and even put some small craft breweries under.

Who is behind the bill? Big money donors, lobbyists with Anheuser-Busch InBev who want to protect the 3-tier system. Mitch Rubin, a lobbyist for A-B has stated publicly that he is for draft beer and growler sales at breweries, but is against bottle, can, and keg sales.

28 thoughts on “Big Blow Dealt to Craft Breweries in Florida

  1. So the mass produced, crappy beer companies are obviously afraid of the trending micro-brews which make a much better product than they do. So if they cannot out-do them with a palatable product, they will stomp them out using big money. Anheuser-Busch – you are as classy as your beer.

  2. As a European in the USA, this country has no clue what a free market system is… Politicians for sale and taking away funding limits to politicians and their parties.

  3. Honest question that I’d really like to know the answer to. What is their justification for even implementing this law? It seems contrary to everything we value about freedoms and choices in America, so I’m honestly curious as what their rationale is. (Even if it’s just some made-up premise).

  4. Don’t forget about the mom & pop restaurants out there…in many states breweries do not have to adhere to the same ABC laws as they do. In VA. restaurants have to meet a strict food/alcohol sales ratio while breweries do not and when they sell direct to customers it takes business away from them. If you are a brewer stick to that don’t be an entertainment venue / bar etc…

    • News for you Pam, would have happened long ago had it been dummycrats in the Florida legislature. AB is union, no way the dummys wouldn’t have done this. Democrats and Republicans are both completely corrupt as a party.

      • It has nothing to do with Unions, it has to do with the AB weasels and their sales being down. They can’t win sales fairly because of their beer, so they weasel away in this fashion.

  5. why are red states such nanny states? why do they enjoy big government telling their citizens what they can and can’t do? why do they enjoy squashing innovation and new business? seems pretty unamerican to me, but again we are talking about a nanny-red state.

    • Blue states are just as bad, doesnt matter what the party affliation is, happens everywhere, stop looking at it as a two sided problem when its really just a one sided problem, “a house divided against itself cannot stand” (something like that) -not so honest Ab

      • well i certainly agree both parties totally SUCK only one seems to want to control everything and everybody. i live in a blue state that helps breweries, and as a result we are probably one of the top 3 fastest growing microbrewery states in the union. this bill is BS and hurting small business. republicans are supposedly for small business. guess what small business didn’t have enough money to bribe these politicians so this is what you get. not equal man. not equal.

    • Red/Blue… what’s the difference? They all rule in favor of the highest bidder. End the left/right battle and lets all do everything in our power regain our freedom.

  6. In Utah breweries that want to sell their own beer have to sell it to the state liquor store and buy it back taxed. You can’t even get a keg in Utah you have to drive into Wyoming, Nevada or Idaho to get one. Its all ridiculous. Who would have thought getting a tall frosty beverage would be so flippen hard?

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