Ever had a sinking feeling that something isn't quite right while surveying the beers at your grocery store? Sure, the selection is fine -- maybe not as many local craft beers as you'd like to see, but hey, this is Miami after all. But wait. Why are all the beers SO SMALL?
Turns out there's a 45-year-old law on the books in Florida restricting beer to 32-ounce bottles or less. One great legislator in Tallahassee, fortunately, is trying to change that, and she's got Florida's resurgent craft beer industry at her back.
Rep. Katie Edwards, a Democrat from Plantation, has filed a bill that would let vendors sell beer in 64-ounce growlers as well. She's picked up a number of cosponsors, including the Tampa-area representative whose district includes Cigar City -- Florida's biggest craft brewer.
The law dates from 1965 and wasn't a teetotaling attempt to curb big drinkers. Rather, it was the result of lobbying by competitors trying to cut into sales of Miller's popular 7-ounce pony cans, the Sarasota Herald Tribune reports.
Of course, it's also had the handy side-effect in modern times of giving big national beer makers an edge over small local producers. So it's a fair bet that some big money will flow into Tally to try to oppose this bill.
There could be one unintended consequence, at least by Riptide's reading of the new legislation. The current law also bans the sale of 40s -- the malt liquor delivery device of ironic college kids and hobos everywhere.
"People now have an appreciation for these craft beers in Florida, and it would be great to let them produce their beers in a size that's more economical for them to obtain," she says. "The law we have now doesn't make too much sense. It's an arbitrary size restriction. It's archaic."
