Welcome to FLBrewer!!

UPDATE!!!

Important info......

As all of us are aware, the beer laws in Florida have imposed signifcant restrictions on craft breweries in the sate for many years. One of the biggest is the "three tier" distribution system that was imposed on the state back when one brewery held a veritable monopoly on beers sales in the state. I won't mention any names, but they were recently sold to an international brewing conglomerate based in Belgium...

This three tier system makes it extremely difficult from craft breweries in this state to start up and survive. It requires breweries to sell to distributors, who then sell to retailers, and then to the general public. Of course each layer adds their own markup to the process which also increases the cost of the beer to the consumer. The only exception to this rule is the "brew on premise" rule which allows breweries and brew pubs to sell directly to the public only for consupmtion on their, or a contiguous premise. So even if you love the beer, you cannot take it home with you. This puts breweris in Florida at a huge financial disadvantage as opposed to breweries in other states where direct distribution is legel. By allowing customers to take beer off the premise, tpically in 1/2 gallon growlers, breweries can significantly increase their viability. 

Direct sales will really only bring the beer industry in Florida into parity with the state's exiting wine industry. Yes, wineries in Florida can distribute directly to the public. So while breweries and brew pubs can't sell a 1/2 gallon growler of 6% beer directly to the public, wineries can, and do, sell cases of 12-18% wine directly out their front doors.

State Senator Dave Aronberg  from Florida District 27 has introduced Senate Bill 2010 SB 2062 which calls for the abolishment of the restrictions on direct sale of beer by breweries producing less that 10,000 kegs (155,000 gallons) annually. Additionally the bill calss for the abolishment of the current restriction on containers between 32 ounces and one gallon in size, Effectively this bill would make it legal for craft breweries to sell growlers out the dorr to their patrons.

I urge you all to write your local Senator and express support for Florida Senate Bill SB 2062. I also encourage you to write your local Florida House Representative and encourage them to come up with an equivalent house bill supporting this change to Florida's outdated beer laws.  If you don't know who your senator or representatives are, pleas check the links in this article for a list.

This is the first step. It will probably not be the last, but just like the previous changes to Florida's bottling laws to remove the 12oz limit, this is a battle that should be fought to bring parity to Florida's alcoholic beverage laws, and to give our craft brewers a fair shake instead of hobbling them for the benefit of the large brewing conglomerates.