Update on CO Beer Laws
As I talked about in this post Colorado was thinking about allowing grocery stores and and convenience stores sell full strength beer (currently they can only sell 3.2% beer).
The Denver Post has the write up on it, but the House Committee voted 7-4 last night to not allow it. According to the article, proponents of the bill say they might take the issue straight to the voters.
This is a tricky subject, and I can see both sides of the issue.
The grocery and convenience stores feel like they’re being left out, especially after a law was passed last year allowing liquor and full strength beer sales on Sundays (before that the only beer available on Sunday’s was 3.2% beer from grocery and convenience stores). They feel that if one law was changed both should be. I can see their argument, and if it were the other way around I’d probably be against it.
But because of these laws an awesome craft beer market has emerged in Colorado. Every liquor store I’ve been in here has a great selection of small and local beers on their shelves. This wasn’t the case at all back in California. Most liquor and grocery stores had one or two of the bigger microbreweries beers on their shelves, those with big distribution, and for everything else you had to go to a specialty liquor store anyways, but they were few and far between. I can only think of two liquor stores in Santa Cruz (a town comparable in size to Durango) that had anywhere near the same selection of craft beer that the average liquor store here has.
I really do think that if a law like this were passed local craft breweries would lose sales (or at the very least gain less market share). Since I’m a big fan of craft beer I want to see these companies flourish. But I can understand the arguments from the other side.
I’ll toast a glass of Ska Brewing Co’s Modus Hoperandi today to this (at least temporary) win for craft beer in Colorado. And Steamworks, Carver and Durango Brewing, don’t worry, I’ll be toasting a glass to you guys soon.
