James Call
Sen. Jack Latvala Wednesday tabled his growler bill after 95 minutes of public testimony and 20 minutes of debate. Florida is one of two states that prohibit a 64-ounce container for beer. Crafter breweries have been fighting for three years to get what they say is the most popular size for containers available in Florida.
Latvala had filed a clean bill, addressing only container size, but amended it to repeal a tourism provision for a brewer to be eligible for a vendor’s license and also specified the size of a tasting facility. That invited opposition from distributors who argue lawmakers were going to upset a three-tier regulatory structure that has evolved over the years.
“I want to do a little more research,” said Latvala after moving to delay a vote on the proposal. He addressed opponents directly before the committee adjourned.
“It is up to the distributors to come to the table and bring some reasonable proposals. It’s not the little guy trying to figure out how to pass something,” said Latvala. “Bring us concrete written proposals of how you solve this problem of when you from being small to being large and we regulate them. But we are not going to put this industry out of business. We’re going to let them continue growing.
An explosion in craft brewing has exposed Florida’s regulations of alcohol as out of step with the times. The state separates the brewing, distributing and selling of beer among three vendors. Craft brewers traditional make small batches to supply their own operation. It’s a growing industry, more than 3,600 craft breweries have started operation in the past 30 years.
In Florida the conflict ocurrs in deciding when a brewer’s production moves the operation into a different tier of regulation and requires the brewer to use a distributor to get the product to market.
“I agree with allowing craft brewers to get their beer to market . . . but at a certain point in time you become a brewer,” said Sen. Kellie Stargel explaining her reluctance to repeal the tourism provision without more information about why it exists.
The dispute holds the 64-ounce growler hostage. The chair of the Regulatory Committee, Sen. Rob Bradley, said he intends to free the growler this session. He advised a packed committee room not to interpret a delay in the vote as a victory for anyone.
“Were going to move forward with a growler bill this year, we’re going to move forward with the tasting room bill and we’re not going to have any more lawsuits over when it comes to this tourism exception,” said Bradley. “Everyone needs to cool the rhetoric and speak clearly and realistically about what the actual affects are of these things.”
