State legislators cave on craft beer bill
While my team was over in Belgium (see post below) and risking it all to help balance the world’s beer supply, it appears that dark forces were at work back home…
It looks as if I was a little too optimistic when I asked all you fellow beer lovers to just keep quiet as we sat back to watch the craft beer bill move through the 2008 legislative session. HB 2934 was tabled after second reading. It’s dead folks! For another year at least.
One of the bill’s sponsors told me that it was killed by the House leadership because of fear that it would not look good in an election year do anything pro-alcohol. I am also told that Dallas Staples (my new devil…), the West Virginia Alcohol Commissioner, is harboring some twisted idea that his agency should be the sole source to sell higher alcohol beers. Someone needs to sit him down and explain the real world of the beverage sales business to an ex-cop. Do you really think breweries are going to want to split up their product lines to sell “non-intoxicating beer” through wholesalers while then having to deal with some state bureaucracy to sell the rest of the line? Who is going to sell it? Only restaurants that have a full liquor license or liquor stores would even have access, not to mention what it would cost. The idea is just plain ol’ West Virginia stupid!
Now let’s talk about the chicken#*-! house leadership. Are they so intellectually challenged that they are unable to answer any (and I think very few) constituents who might be miffed at the fact that consumers would have access to expensive beer that is almost as strong as wine? If you are setting out to get your drink on, craft beer is not the economical way to go. I would go for a fifth of cheap hooch or a half-gallon of Mad Dog; it’s much cheaper and packs a much stronger wallop.
By the end of this legislative season, it looks almost certain that we will be left standing with Mississippi as the only two states left with such outdated beer laws. Alabama’s craft beer bill was passed in the house and is racing through the state Senate. Even Utah makes provisions for the sale of “full-strength beer.”
Most of us who live here have actually learned to live with low expectations and we accept our reality. We realize we live in a backwards one party state that is surrounded by prosperity. Boy, would I hate to be one of those adventure-starved tourists who come here from a nearby state. They come to enjoy West Virginia’s wonderful fishing streams, forests, white water or ski slopes only to be rudely awakened by the fact that the beloved micro-brew that they have come to expect back home, will not be part of their post-adventure evening. My message to all visitors: B.Y.O.B or just go elsewhere to spend your tourism dollars. Our legislature doesn’t care about you.
I am glad I have a job which allows me to travel. I will continue to spend my beer dollars outside of the state. I think we should all start caravans, carrying the cash out of the state and craft beer back in. West Virginia wine lovers enjoy the ability to find a wide selection of wine just about anywhere in the state. They are even allowed to mail order wines right from small wineries around the country. Meanwhile, West Virginia beer lovers would be committing a felony if they dare accept beer by mail. Am I suggesting that we all break the law? I would never suggest such a thing…
Well, gotta run. The Fed-Ex truck just pulled up! Oh what can “Green” do for me!
March 11th, 2008 at 10:51 am
I was quite disappointed at the lack of progress our legislature made yet again with the Craft Beer (ABV) laws. I personally wrote about 10 letters to various delegates this session begging for support. I know I am probably preaching to the choir by posting here, but I just hate to see WV fall behind other states yet again. Macrobreweries have won again and we will spend at least one more year “enjoying” beer that lacks flavor, quality and creativity due to antiquated laws. Of course, there is always the option of the out-of-state beer run. I guess the state tourism motto of “Buy our Crafts and fill our Rafts” doesn’t get to apply to the skill and craftmanship that goes into American Micro-Brewed Beer.
March 11th, 2008 at 11:04 pm
Thanks for your effort… I think the problem is rooted in a bit of ignorance on the part of our legislators. We need a grass-roots effort along with getting support from the tourism and hospitality industry.
Here is how the ignorance is manifested:
I approached a leading State Senator while at a pub in town. I bent his ear by explaining to him that only 1 out of the Beeradvocate top 100 beers was available in WV. He looked at me and sincerely asked “Is that Red Stripe?”… Need I say more?
March 12th, 2008 at 7:40 am
I will admit that I have not been following this issue as close as I should be. However, I am starting to get tired of going to Pennsylvania to get beer that should be available here in WV. Reading in various magazines all the different beers that get 90+ points out of 100 that are not for sale here because there alcohol is 0.1% higher than allowed, well that is crazy. Is there any organization (or maybe start one) that is geared toward this effort? I would like to help. Where can I get more information?
March 12th, 2008 at 8:26 am
I recently made my first trip to Leo’s in South Point, OH, and it won’t be my last. At least, until our laws, if ever, change. It was certainly worth the trip, so it looks like I’ll be doing some driving!
March 15th, 2008 at 10:42 am
Is it really illegal to order higher strength craft beers by mail in West Virginia? How odd. A couple of years ago I ordered a couple of bottles of kosher slivovitz, a fiery plum brandy (80 proof), from a distributor in Ohio, and it was delivered to my front porch without any fuss at all!
March 15th, 2008 at 2:48 pm
Chuck, I wish I had access to a research and legal staff. It is illegal to mail-order beer, but I can’t seem to find out for sure if it is a felony or a misdemeanor. I am also a bit out of date with the wine law. I am told that as of last July, WV wine lovers are supposedly unable to buy wine via mail. This apparently was a protectionist move that assures all wine sales go through a wine distributor (see the Costco case concerning this subject).
March 16th, 2008 at 11:07 am
I just did a quick read-through of the state liquor laws (link here), and though I couldn’t quickly pinpoint the exact provision that would apply to purchasing “intoxicating beer” (which is what they call any beer that’s over the legal limit of 4.2% alcohol by weight or 6% alcohol by volume), every violation of the liquor laws that I saw (with one exception) was considered a misdemeanor.
It’s legal to sell or buy wine by direct shipment into the state if the seller has a “direct shipper’s license.” (Direct shipment means shipping directly to a consumer, versus shipping to a retailer or wholesaler.) There’s a limit of two cases of wine per month per person. If you sell or buy wine via direct shipment and the seller doesn’t have a direct shipper’s license, that’s a felony (for the seller and the buyer). So as far as I can tell, it’s legal to buy wine via mail, as long as it’s not more than two cases per month. (The legislative web site says the WV Code online is current through the 2nd special session of 2007.)
Other than that provision, though, everything else I saw was a misdemeanor. I couldn’t find any provisions in the law for direct shipment of liquor or alcoholic beer, just wine. Anyway, after a quick read-through I’m not positive, but I think it’s a misdemeanor to purchase liquor or intoxicating beer through the mail.
March 16th, 2008 at 12:08 pm
Thanks for that detective work… It’s a shame that our laws are so complicated that even after you have done exhaustive research, you are still unsure!
I sincerely thank you for your interest in this matter…
April 3rd, 2008 at 8:14 pm
A few years back I was interested in starting a grass roots revolution concerning this topic. However, I really didn’t know where to begin. I spoke to a few folks in Morgantown and in Charleston and learned that someone was already on top of it. So I let it be known that I wanted to help in any way I could. But I never heard from anyone involved. Guess my help was not necessary.
Anyway, I guess they did get something done, because at least the bill is getting introduced. But I don’t think it will ever pass with out support from the people. We need that grass roots campaign or this will never succeed.
Back then I contacted the guy who spearheaded the group Pop The Cap which was the grass roots orginazation that helped change the laws in North Carolina. He was willing to help me/us out by offering advice etc. One thing he told me is that we need to hire a lobbiest. He said that there was no way the NC law would have changed if they had not done so. They held concerts and other events to raise money and awareness for this.
I no longer have the time to try to start somthing like this, however I am very willing to help in any way possible.