Georgia Beer Jobs Bill - Let the Breweries sell their own beer

If you live in Georgia and drink beer, you're already familiar with Georgia's antiquated system of beer sales.  If you don't live here, then you may be surprised to find out that the breweries can't sell beer directly to their customers.  That's right; a company that produces a product cannot sell directly to its consumers.  Instead, Georgia still uses the three-tier system that was set up after prohibition ended: producers can only sell to wholesale distributors, who then sell to retailers.  Only the retailers can sell to the public.

The Georgia Beer Jobs Bill (Senate Bill 63) would allow breweries to sell up to 72 ounces of beer for on-premise consumption, along with up to 144 ounces of beer for off-premise consumption.  Sounds like a good idea, doesn't it?  A better idea would to remove the quantity restrictions, but...baby steps.

The wholesalers are throwing their money at the legislators to try to keep the three-tier system in place.  They don't care what the public wants; they just are scared that allowing the public to purchase from the breweries will wreck the three-tier system that has earned so much money for them.  They claim that it will destroy the "good system" that is in Georgia.  (Good for who?  Only for them.)  They completely ignore that wineries have been able to sell directly to consumers in Georgia for years, without the destruction of this "balance" between the three levels.  They don't seem to understand (or just conveniently ignore) that people are still going to buy the vast majority of their beer from stores anyway, because we're just too lazy to pass a dozen stores to get to the brewery when we want a six-pack.  Their arguments also conveniently ignore that allowing breweries to sell directly to consumers in 45 of the 50 states hasn't brought the world to an end.

Georgia claims that it's a state that wants small businesses to thrive.  If that's true, I don't understand why our senators and representatives are not rushing to support this bill.  This will be a great thing for our breweries, with minimal impact on the wholesalers.

Even if we completely ignore the current unfairness of not allowing the breweries to sell directly to the customers, you would think that our legislators would realize that this will bring money to our state.  Beer is part of the tourism industry; it can bring people to our state, or at least get people to stay longer and spend more money here.  Atlanta is less than four hours south of Asheville, NC; it should be obvious how much beer has benefited that region, and what it could do for us.  If there's any doubt, they could just look to the New Belgium and Sierra Nevada breweries being built there.  (As a personal example, we have a group of 10 friends heading to Ft. Collins, CO in July to visit the breweries there.  We're only spending around 3 days on the "beer" portion of our trip, but many of us will be spending an additional week in the state.  So, this is 10 days of hotel rooms, meals and car rental that is being spent in Colorado as a direct result of beer.  You just need to glance at some of my other posts to see how much beer tourism can get someone to visit a community/state. )

While discussing New Belgium and Sierra Nevada's new breweries, I have to mention how breweries wouldn't even consider expanding to Georgia.  When Tampa's Cigar City started looking add a production facility in the Southeast, they did not even consider coming here.  ("We’ve kind of purposefully skipped over Alabama and Georgia because they really don’t ...have the friendliest legislation so we kind of took those off the table right away.” These are potential jobs that won't be coming to our state because everyone knows we're not beer-friendly.

This is one of those rare situations where almost everyone agrees that a bill should be passed.  (Of course, the exception is the wholesalers, and whatever legislators are receiving their contributions.)  Communities are even throwing their support behind the bill, including Kennesaw , Alpharetta  and the Valdosta Tourism Authority.

Meanwhile, editorials throughout the state are also discussing the benefits of the bill, and stating that it should be passed:
  Marietta Daily Journal (courtesy of Northwest Georgia News)
  Savannah Morning News
  Atlanta Journal-Constitution
  Peach Pundit
  Creative Loafing
 
Yet, I hear no one claiming that this bill shouldn't pass...except for those wholesalers (and their money). 

Unfortunately, I think the money going from the wholesalers to our legislators' pockets is going to derail this bill, no matter how much it would benefit Georgia.  But, if you would like to try to help, I would encourage you to contact your legistlator(s).

•   You can look up your senators and representatives at this site.

•  I would also encourage you to contact Lt. Governor Casey Cagle, as some has reported that he is using his influence to prevent this bill from passing.  (Phone: 404-656-5030 Email: casey.cagle@ltgov.ga.gov)

Here are some other articles discussing the bill, and various reactions to it.
Fortune
Creative Loafing and also here
Online Athens
Erick Erickson Show

A few beers in Flagstaff, Arizona

In January, we were visiting with some friends in Phoenix, and decided to make a trip up to the Grand Canyon.  Originally we were planning on staying overnight somewhere near the Grand Canyon Park, but then realized that there really wasn't much to do around there in the evening.  So, after looking around a bit, we decided to stay in Flagstaff and then drive the hour and a half to the Grand Canyon in the morning.

Flagstaff is a great little city to spend an evening and try out some beers.  There are four breweries easily within walking distance of each other in the downtown area, along with a couple of others that are within a mile or so.  

Hops on Birch (22 East Birch Avenue #2, Flagstaff, AZ)

After checking into our hotel, we were still trying to get our bearings, and happened across Hops on Birch.  Since this was one of the places we wanted to check out anyway, it seemed like we might as well go in and have a beer.

Hops on Birch is the place that you want to be your neighborhood bar. There are about 25 taps of GOOD beer, and they change frequently.  The bartenders are friendly, and so are the rest of the patrons, including the pups that are welcome to join their owners inside.  They have live music four nights a week, along with darts and other games.  There's no food, but there is $1 off all beers during happy hour (3-6pm).


This is a place that was built by people who like beer, and who wanted to be a part of the community.  I wish we had this bar in my neighborhood.  Unfortunately, after only one beer, it was time to move on; we had lots of places to check out, and only one evening to do so.

Mother Road Brewing (7 South Mikes Pike, Flagstaff, AZ)

After leaving Hops on Birch, we walked a few blocks to our first brewery stop: Mother Road Brewing.  This was our favorite of the three breweries that we visited; not only did we feel that the beer was the best, we also enjoyed the environment the most.

There is a small bar, that would seat around a dozen, and a number of high-tops for additional seating.  The bar area sits right in the middle of the brewery, with the fermentation tanks looming over you, reminding you at all times that the beer came from right over there.

When we were there, they had seven beers on tap, along with a cask of their pale ale which they had added citra hops to.  Along with being able to get a pint, you can also get 4-5 ounce tastes of whichever beers you want for $1 each.  

All of there beers were very good; I would rate most as 7 or 8 out of 10.  Even though I'm not a big fan of fruit beers, I was really impressed with the Cherry Red Pale Ale.  It had just a hint of cherry sweetness, and was really nicely balanced.  The Lost Highway Black IPA was nice, but I thought it could use both more hops and more malt, considering it was a black IPA.  The Stranded Spiced Porter was nice; on first taste, I didn't really recognize much spiced flavor, but it built after a few sips and turned into a really nicely balanced spiced porter.

We really enjoyed our time here.  Since it was a Monday night, it was relatively slow, but we had a nice time chatting with the couple next to us (who thoughtfully reminded us that we were at an elevation of over 7000 feet, and that the alcohol would hit us harder than at sea level).  The bartender, Cedar, was great as well.  We had a great time talking to him.

Since it was the middle of January, we didn't have a chance to enjoy their patio,but it looked like a great place to hang out on a nice afternoon or evening.

They don't have food for purchase, but you can bring in food from one of the nearby restaurants.

Beaver Street Brewery (11 South Beaver St #1, Flagstaff, AZ)
When we left Mother Road, it was a short walk to Beaver Street Brewery.  They had beer, they had food, so we decided to have dinner here.

Have you ever been to one of those brewpubs that can't decide if the beer or the food is more important...so they both suffer?  Welcome to Beaver Street.  Nothing was bad here, but there really wasn't much to say great things about either.

They had around 8 beers on tap, and they were ok, but nothing great.  I guess one of their big sellers is their Beaver Street Red Raspberry.  If you like fruit beers, you

may like this, but I thought it was a really light beer with an overpowering raspberry flavor.  The oatmeal stout and ESB were pretty solid, but I wouldn't rush back to get them.

Since they have woodfired pizzas, we decided to get a couple of those for dinner.  Again, they were ok, but nothing outstanding.  Actually, the crust had the texture and flavor of a frozen pizza; that was a big disappointment.

Overall, I wish we had stayed at Mother Road, and ordered a pizza from the place around the corner from them.

Flagstaff Brewing Company (16 East Route 66, Flagstaff, AZ)
Now it was time to walk back across the train tracks, and head to the Flagstaff Brewing Company. 

As it was getting later on Monday night, things were pretty quiet at the brewery.  There were only a couple of other patrons in the bar when we got there.  

Flagstaff Brewing's pub is a pretty big establishment, with a long bar and quite a few tables.  There are also ping pong tables in the back.

When we were there, they had 6 of their own beers on tap, along with other beers available.  Their 4-5 ounce samples were $1 each, and I had four.  

• Bitterroot ESB - This had a pretty decent flavor, and not too much bitterness.  
• Agassiz Amber - This amber just seemed off; it had a sweetness and a bitterness that were odd together.  
• Blackbird Porter - This one was really quite good; it actually had a bit more flavor than many porters. That may be because they didn't actually have a stout on tap, so there porter was a little deeper than many others would be.  
• Three Pin Pale Ale - Ok, but the flavor just seemed a little off with this one too.

Overall, the bar was ok, but it wasn't a favorite.

The State Bar (10 E Route 66, Flagstaff, AZ)
Our last stop of the evening was at The State Bar, just a couple of doors down from Flagstaff Brewing.   This is a great place to go, especially if your an Arizona tourist.  All 36 or their taps, along with all their wines, come from Arizona.  I've never been at a bar where EVERYTHING is local (or at least comes from the local state).  What a great idea.

Even at the late hour, there were a few people hanging around the bar.  Strangely, throughout the night we had seen a British guy who was doing the same thing as we were...bouncing from bar to bar to see what Flagstaff had to offer; it was a perfect way to end the evening to see him here as well.

I ended up doing a tasting of four non-Flagstaff beers to end the night.  The flight was $6, which seemed reasonable.

• Sonoran White Chocolate - This was the first time that I've ever had a 'light' colored chocolate beer.  It was really interesting.  It had a slight bitterness, but mostly it just had a nice chocolate flavor.
• San Tan Sex Panther  - There wasn't a ton of chocolate flavor in this one.  It was very drinkable, and not heavy at all.
• Creamy Demon Nitro - This had a little bitterness, but overall a nice chocolate flavor.  The flavor was a little light, as are many nitrogenated beers.
• Grand Canyon Winter Bourbon Barrel - This was ok, but it was a little bland for either a winter beer or for a bourbon barrel.

We also picked up a couple of Arizona beers to enjoy while sitting at the Grand Canyon the following day.

• Borderlands Noche Dulce Moonlight Vanilla Porter - 9/10 This was yummy.  It had a nice balance, and was both chocolate-y and vanilla-y.  This one was a little expensive, but it was really tasty.  Actually, it was one of the best beers I had in Arizona, even if it came out of a can instead of from a tap.

• College Street Sweet Devil Stout - 6/10 This was ok, but not stellar.  It didn't really read like a stout...more like a dark porter.  It was sweet, but not really chocolately.

If you are in Arizona, and happen to be somewhere around Flagstaff, plan on spending an afternoon or an evening to try out all the options in this great little city.