A change for PA beer laws?
It’s no secret that Pennsylvania beer laws suck. But this week, there’s a small ray of hope for change. Pennsylvania State Senator John Rafferty is writing a bill that would allow sales of six-packs and twelve-packs at beer distributors, grocery stores, and convenience stores.
Yeah, that’s right. We can’t buy six-packs in PA. At least, not easily.
Up until recently, PA residents could only purchase cases and kegs of beer at beer distributors. No beer sales at grocery stores. If you wanted a six-pack, you had to get it at a restaurant that serves beer on premises.
But grocery stores like Wegmans and Whole Foods have begun to find a way around this by serving beer on premises in restaurants within their stores. And I’ll tell you what, it’s been really nice being able to try new beers without the commitment of buying a full case.
But this convenience comes at a price… Six-packs are expensive. It’s pretty difficult to find anything under $9.99, and it’s not uncommon to pay $13 or more for a six-pack. And here’s the kicker — you can’t purchase more than 192 fl. oz. at a time. Yeah, seriously.
Nevertheless, I’ve been loving the fact that I can walk into Wegmans or Whole Foods and see a vast selection of craft beer in six-packs. Check out the beer section at Wegmans in Collegeville.
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| Craft beer at Wegmans, organized by region |
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| The refrigerated section at Wegmans |
Wegmans sells beer from around the world, separated in aisles by region. And they’re able to do this because of the pub area within the store, where they sell draft beer for on-site consumption.
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| The Pub at Wegmans |
The new Whole Foods in Plymouth Meeting has a similar deal. They have a refrigerated room full of craft beer, adjacent to a separate bar area within the store.
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| The refrigerated room full of craft beer at Whole Foods |
There’s a sitting area where you can bring in food from the store to eat, and they sell draft beer by the glass and in growlers.
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| Growler sales at Whole Foods |
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| The eating area at Whole Foods |
But it appears that grocery stores may not have to jump through such hoops in the future if this bill makes it through. Personally, I would love it if my grocery store, which is a two-minute drive from my house, started selling six-packs, rather than having to drive 20 minutes to get to Wegmans or Whole Foods.
There have been several attempts at similar legislature in the past, and nothing has worked up until this point. But State Senator Rafferty’s bill will also include a requirement that 100% of beer purchasers be carded, regardless of how old the buyer looks. Hopefully this will make it easier to get it passed.
I’ve got a good feeling about this… Or maybe it’s just my irrational optimism. Who knows? I’m looking forward to seeing how this plays out.
For more information on the ridiculous PA beer laws and to sign the petition supporting legislation for better beer laws, check out Six Pack To Go.
5 Comments to “A change for PA beer laws?”
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Oh god, i am guilty of making excuses to go to the grocery store as it is to check the beer selection. If they had a pub?!
This ranks up there with awesome things like my gym having Racer 5 on tap.
That said, I hope you get 6 pack sales as well. But the Grocery pub is a fantastic idea. Even my daughter Kaleigh is excited about it:
http://i239.photobucket.com/albums/ff212/brewedforthought/Other/IMG00042-20081226-1253.jpg
There are such weird beer laws in this country. 192 oz? 3.2% (in CO)? Must buy before 9pm in CT? wtf.
Yes the beer laws in Pennsylvania are odd compared to many other states, but because of these laws we have many small businesses that have carved out a niche market…the six pack shop. On the surface letting C-Stores and grocery stores sell beer may seem like a fine idea. It will provide one stop shopping and lower price points for consumers, but what people neglect to see is the impact to the local business community.
Nearly all six pack shops and bottle shops are locally and independently owned. The people who own these stores are living in your communities. These people have invested a lot of money in their buildings, property, equipment, and (lets not forget) their liquor license. Giving these corporate entities the ability to sell beer will undoubtedly damage the local business community. Wegmans, Sheetz, Sunoco, Giant Eagle, etc are all huge companies with no real ties to your town or city.
I own a Bottle Shop and Restaurant and I am not complaining about competition, but if your going to change the law mid stream at least give us a fair shake. We are entrepreneurs and will forge ahead and compete no matter the outcome. Just don’t change the law with out first considering the impact on our communities.
This is simply a convenience issue. I live about 30-40 minutes from the closest bottle shop yet there are at least 10 distributors and grocery stores within 10 minutes. I shouldn’t have to make a 2-hour round trip to buy what nearly everyone else in America can get right around the corner.
I think a lot of craft beer lovers will still frequently visit their favorite six-pack shops. In a pinch I’d love to be able to pick up a six-pack of Yards on my normal grocery shopping trip, but I just don’t see my local Sunoco or Super Fresh carrying St. Bernardus and putting all the locally owned and operated bottle shops out of business.
I don’t care much if the Wawas start selling beer.
The only change we really need is letting the distributors sell by the 6. I live fairly close to the Wegmans that sells beer, and it is nice to be able to try something weird and not waste $40-$50 on it (and sometimes not even like it).
I like shopping from a local distributor, but I also like trying local small beers. It is hard to find a deli that sells a good variety of beers, rather than the Bud, etc and 40’s.