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A bill that is advancing in the Florida Legislature would allow some local breweries to sell up to 5,000 barrels of malt beverages annually to licensed vendors.
This would allow them to bypass a distributor.
House Bill 499 advanced through the House Industries and Professional Activities Subcommittee with a vote of 13 to 2 on Wednesday.
Currently, alcohol distribution in the U.S. has a three-tier system. It requires producers of alcoholic beverages to sell to distributors, who ensure that drinks comply with state laws. Those distributors then sell the products to vendors.
New Port Richey Republican Representative Brad Yeager filed the bill in the Legislature. He said that allowing craft breweries, which produce less than 60,000 barrels annually, to sell directly to vendors would help them stay in business.
“This is about building a bridge to the three-tier system, not knocking it down,” Yeager said.
Brewery owners like Shannon Huddleston of Emerald Coast Brewing Company testified to the subcommittee.
Huddleston said the bill would help her brewery promote local charities and grow large enough to partner with distributors.
“I am capped at what I can sell in my taproom,” she said. “Distributors won’t touch me. I am too small.”
Meanwhile, opponents that included Florida alcohol distributors said this would allow breweries to function with less oversight.
Jared Ross, president of the Florida Beer Wholesalers Association, said the bill could lead to unmonitored sales between breweries and vendors.
“The three-tier system exists to protect consumers and maintain accountability, and this bill puts that balance at risk,” he said.
Some members of the subcommittee were also concerned about the pressure breweries could place on the three-tier system if they grow without a distributor.
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