I just heard this morning that there is a bill in Delaware to allow growler fills at liquor stores.
http://www.wdde.org/40327-craft-beer-liquor-store-growler-bill
Been trying for this in Maryland as well. Unfortunately it is done county by county and I live in a very conservative area. State Line has been trying to get this through for a few years now.
From their website:
1.29.13 Growler Update!
Our growler bill has been submitted to the Maryland Legislature.
One step at a time.
i know of few liquor stores in Colorado that sell beer in growlers, but they don’t fill growlers. As a liquor store employee i can only see added issues in terms of inconvenience for the store. I like the idea as customer but as someone who on a daily basis sees what non-responsible drinkers consume it seems like this would be a bad idea.
Grocery stores can’t sell beer, because we have to protect liquor stores. Makes sense that liquor stores wouldn’t be able to fill growlers, assuming we care about protecting breweries.
I agree with Sam Hobbs (Twin Lakes Brewery) that this is a “no-brainer”, and will be healthy for the industry and Delaware Breweries as a whole. I think it will pass. Seems like it has great support from many. Not to mention, I’ll be able to some growlers filled easily.
unless it’s 3.2% or not “sold in the store” but in side entrance with no entrance into the main store.
Pretty funny that as conservative and backwards Alabama can be regarding alcohol we’ve been doing draft to go sales here for years.
It’s kind of hard to get traction when the BA are the ones lobbying to keep the blue laws in place.
Really? How’s that?
Retailers in CO can only have one full liquor license - if they have multiple locations the rest can only sell liquor under 3.2% ABW. This protects liquor stores’ margins since they don’t have to compete with big-box retailers who work on high volumes. We aren’t supposed to discuss politics, so I won’t go into my views, but the BA, among other industry groups, is opposed to changing that system.
http://www.coloradostatesman.com/content/993953-battle-brewing-over-beer-supermarkets
Are you saying growler sales would lead to more unresponsible drinking? It’s a lot of beer in one container, but it’s also usually expensive (per ounce) compared to alcohol in bottles, cans, … or 40s.
I missed this. Let me just say I can’t abide by the attitude that some “big brother” needs to watch out for the “non-responsible” drinkers. What’s to stop someone from buying a gallon of pure grain alcohol and drinking themselves to death? We can’t have a society that curtails freedoms for the vast majority of responsible people just because of the few irresponsible. I personally don’t like the idea of someone deciding how much alcohol I can “responsibly” buy.
If I am going to buy a gallon of 10% ABV beer I’m most likely not going to be drinking the entire thing by myself. I should have the freedom to buy it and split it with friends. But if I’m at home watching a movie with my wife and I want to try to knock out the gallon myself - as long as I don’t get behind the wheel of a car or make a nuisance of myself I should have the right to do that. And it kinda chaps my ass that some people out there think they need to manage other peoples alcohol purchases.
Just sayin’… 
Fixed it!
Unfortunately i see way to people that are not responsible with their alcohol consumption. I agree that most normal/responsible drinkers will at least wait until they get home to crack open the growler and enjoy, but there also a good number of people that would be coming multiple days a to get a refill (especially if the Coors or similar started offering their beers) and not being responsible . In today’s society it seems like it only takes a few bad apples to ruin it for the rest of us. Like i said before the logistics for a small corner store like mine would make this idea nothing but a hassle. This concept would only be viable for the bigger stores and even then would probably present a challenge in-terms of the extra storage needs.
As a store employee I’m technically liable for accident that involves a customer, just as bar tender is technically liable for serving an intoxicated person, so i guess i see too many negatives in this idea.
Aside from the extra work, how are growler fills any different than 30 packs? Someone can dig into that on the way home or come back every couple days for another. I don’t get the logic that the container has anything to do with the behavior.
We have had growlers for a couple years at breweries and brewpubs, but Florida still has a funny container size law, too. Anything between 32 ounces and one gallon is illegal, which includes the standard size all the other states use, 64 ounces.
I believe there is a bill being discussed in legislation to change that right now. Maybe Gary Glass should send out an action alert.
+1. I’m in the middle of fighting against these kinds of stupid regulations of container size and abv limits. Drives me crazy to see suggestions that we should put more in place! There is nothing in this world that should stop me from being able to purchase a gallon of beer, especially when I can buy a gallon of wine or pure grain alcohol!
I’m not saying that you shouldn’t be able to buy that amount of beer. my main issue would the additional space require to hold the kegs to fill the growlers and the growlers them selves. for small store space is very limited it’s hard enough to find room for all the new beers let alone the 40ish from Sam Adams, then have to try and squeeze in room to fit kegs (they may not sell/move as fast) as a 30pk thus it would not be creating income and also the beer would not be “fresh” if it didn’t move. for many small stores they would have to decide if they wanted numerous kegs of the bigger breweries and also their beer on shelves vs trying to stock the most diverse product they can. there is only so much room in store.
It pains me to say this but making money is more important than what the beer is being sold in. A store needs to make a profit and having dead weight in the store is no good.
I would rather drive to the brewery and support them directly than the convenience of a gas station or liquor store.
another potential issue with the growler in Colorado and i believe many other states would be the “open container” laws.
in general i agree that there are way too many regulations in our daily lives and many should be thrown out or reformed.
I think all you’d have to do would be secure the cap somehow (duct tape or shrinky-dink), same as a brewery.
i know of many breweries that do that. I have also heard of people getting in trouble because it’s “not factory sealed”, not that a bottle cap is more secure