Act 113 changes decades-old regulations, and could increase the business of local microbreweries.
View full sizeWeyerbacher Brewing Co., which has weekly open houses every Friday and Saturday in Easton, has begun selling single 12-ounce bottles under a recent change in Pennsylvania law. A provision in a recently created Pennsylvania law will allow breweries to sell individual bottles of beer, something one local brewery says will allow customers to be more experimental.
A section of state law mandating sales of specific quantities of beer has been around for decades. It included descriptions of what quantities breweries could sell.
“Act 113 eliminates the requirement that sales be in quantities of at least 64 ounces,” said Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board spokeswoman Stacy Kriedeman. The changed law, which specifically affects breweries, says a licensed brewery can sell any quantity of its beer in any package or any volume for off-premises consumption.
For microbreweries selling products buyers may be unfamiliar with, the change could mean the difference between a customer trying a new, experimental flavor of beer or not.
The change is huge for small breweries, said Bill Bragg, a spokesman for Weyerbacher Brewing Co. in Easton.
“As opposed to being restricted by a relatively antiquated state rule, we're able to let people have a chance to try samples on their own ground," Bragg said. "They can just have a beer or two in their home instead of committing to a whole case.”
Whether it is a financial issue or just that a customer doesn't want a case of beer they've never tried before, Bragg said, the changed law could mean more interest in small-batch beers.
The law only affects breweries like Weyerbacher, which does not have a sit-down restaurant on its property.
Fegley's Brew Works in Bethlehem and Allentown have restaurants, which already required them to get a particular liquor license to sell single bottles, according to marketing manager Mike Fegley.
Fegley said he's "happy for everybody else."
"It's a good decision and another small step in updating antiquated laws in Pennsylvania," Fegley said.
State Sen. Lisa Boscola and Rep. Bob Freeman voted for the change
“This enables customers to sample a wider range of the brewery's brands, while enabling the brewery to market its products to a wider audience,” Boscola said.
Both credited microbreweries like Weyerbacher and Brew Works as important small business ventures.
“Microbreweries ... really have provided a tremendous product in terms of variety of styles of beers,” Freeman said. “They're small businesses that we want to see succeed here in Pennsylvania, and this will help that.”
About 250 new microbreweries opened in the United States in 2011, according to the Brewers Association, a national advocate for craft brewers. That number is up from 2010, when 152 opened.
This year could see an even larger number of new localized breweries opening, and at least one new Easton-based brewery is in the works. The Two Rivers Brewing Co. is slated to open for food in July and begin brewing small-batch beers in the fall at Sixth and Northampton streets.
The law was approved in December, but most provisions did not kick in until Feb. 20.
Other provisions of the state law create a limited distillery license for small distillers of liquor, a provision that could encourage start-up distillers.
But the law also creates a harsher noise ordinance for licensed sellers of alcohol. A licensee cannot use loudspeakers to play music, entertainment or advertisements beyond their property line. If seller gets more than six noise complaints in 24 months, the state could decide not to renew their license.
The law also specifies how long licensed sellers may host happy hours -- up to four hours a day and 14 hours a week.