Home | Distributors divided over Florida beer growler bill?

Distributors divided over Florida beer growler bill?

By , Herald-Tribune
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A 64-ounce growler of beer, currently illegal in Florida. (AP archive)

A 64-ounce growler of beer, currently illegal in Florida. (AP archive)

In case you missed it, on Thursday a Florida Senate committee unanimously approved a bill to legalize 64-ounce beer growlers. A growler is a reusable bottle that is filled at the tap. It allows people to take draft beer home to drink.

There is still a ways to go: The bill must make it to the full Senate, who must then approve it. The same thing must happen to the companion bill in the House. Then Gov. Rick Scott must sign it into law.

The unanimous approval is promising, and hopefully signals that the bill will become law.

It's been reported that beer distributors oppose the bill. But distributor J.J. Taylor (distributor of MillerCoors beers, Cigar City and many others) has tweeted that they support 64-ounce growlers:

And the Beer Industry of Florida trade group has written a letter to Sen. John Thrasher in support of the measure, and they report that MillerCoors distributors are supporting the bill while Anheuser-Busch distributors are opposing it:

I'm trying to get a comment from an Anheuser-Busch distributor, but they are currently at a big Anheuser-Busch conference in Las Vegas.

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Alan Shaw

Alan Shaw has been a fan of craft beer for more than a decade. He is partial to hops and has been an editor at the Herald-Tribune since 1997. He can be reached at (941) 361-4914, by email or mail at 1741 Main St., Sarasota, FL 34236. Follow him at @alancshaw on Twitter and on Facebook.
Last modified: March 25, 2013
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VIEWING 3 COMMENTS
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David Finkelstein
Sunday, March 24, 2013 at 7:20 pm

What's a beer growler? The article doesn't say.

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Alan Shaw
Monday, March 25, 2013 at 3:19 pm

David, a growler is a reusable bottle that is filled at the tap. It allows people to take draft beer home to drink. I added that to the story.

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Jim Brady
Tuesday, March 26, 2013 at 8:58 am

How can anyone in their right mind oppose this bill? It would simply be un-American not to support it. Ooooops! I forgot! Anhauser-Busch (InBev) is not American! That being said, the approval of the Growler Bill is a major economic boost to the Florida craft beer industry and brings our state through the 20th and and into the 21st century with respect to other beer-friendly states whose consumers have been enjoying access to a plethora of craft beer choices for decades. Of course AB opposes the bill! Corporate profits through control of the market ALWAYS override consumer benefit . . . and this to benefit a foreign corporation to boot? Don't let foreign influence limit your enjoyment and impede the economic growth of American indusrty. If the trend today is to buy American to support Americans, allow your(local) American breweries to provide you with more choices and better beer in the container that you desire.