daveb91
03-14-2009, 06:39 PM
I will still be drinking my tried and true Bud Light but now there will be more choices.
CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- After going flat in previous attempts, the House of Delegates Wednesday finally passed a bill to allow the sale of high-quality craft beers in West Virginia.
The legislation (HB2719) would raise the permissible maximum alcohol level for beer sold in the state from the current 6 percent by volume to 12 percent. It passed the House on a 79-17 vote and goes to the Senate.
House Judiciary Chairwoman Carrie Webster, D-Kanawha, said the current restrictions put the state at a competitive disadvantage, noting that the sale of craft beer and microbrews is a $5.8 billion a year industry nationally.
"West Virginia is one of only two states that continue to restrict distribution of beer to an alcohol content at or under 6 percent," she said.
"This bill is aimed at creating a market for these beers in West Virginia," Webster added.
In past sessions, beer distributors and wholesalers opposed the measure, fearing that craft beer sales would cut into market share for their mainstay, mass-market brands.
However, the West Virginia Beer Wholesalers Association is supporting the bill this session.
Kathy Folio, president of North Central Distributors in Clarksburg, said Wednesday that distributors realized that the lack of beer selection was driving customers to border states, where they are buying mass-market beers as well as craft beer selections.
"What we're losing by not offering what you can buy in other states befuddles me," she said.
Folio said she spoke with a distributor in Point Marion, Pa., who said 70 percent of his sales are from West Virginians.
"I had never contemplated what we're really losing because of this law," she said, "I know a lot of people who buy their beer outside of the state of West Virginia."
CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- After going flat in previous attempts, the House of Delegates Wednesday finally passed a bill to allow the sale of high-quality craft beers in West Virginia.
The legislation (HB2719) would raise the permissible maximum alcohol level for beer sold in the state from the current 6 percent by volume to 12 percent. It passed the House on a 79-17 vote and goes to the Senate.
House Judiciary Chairwoman Carrie Webster, D-Kanawha, said the current restrictions put the state at a competitive disadvantage, noting that the sale of craft beer and microbrews is a $5.8 billion a year industry nationally.
"West Virginia is one of only two states that continue to restrict distribution of beer to an alcohol content at or under 6 percent," she said.
"This bill is aimed at creating a market for these beers in West Virginia," Webster added.
In past sessions, beer distributors and wholesalers opposed the measure, fearing that craft beer sales would cut into market share for their mainstay, mass-market brands.
However, the West Virginia Beer Wholesalers Association is supporting the bill this session.
Kathy Folio, president of North Central Distributors in Clarksburg, said Wednesday that distributors realized that the lack of beer selection was driving customers to border states, where they are buying mass-market beers as well as craft beer selections.
"What we're losing by not offering what you can buy in other states befuddles me," she said.
Folio said she spoke with a distributor in Point Marion, Pa., who said 70 percent of his sales are from West Virginians.
"I had never contemplated what we're really losing because of this law," she said, "I know a lot of people who buy their beer outside of the state of West Virginia."