ALABAMA – Let’s hope that this is a temporary mistake that will be corrected in the House. Otherwise we’d have to think that distributor lobbyists got to the right people…just sayin’.
Here’s the deal…
The ability for craft breweries, wineries and distributors to home deliver their products directly to homes has kept many businesses alive in this era of COVID-19.
But last week, the Alabama Senate passed Senate Bill 126, which would give the go-ahead for delivery of distilled spirits in original containers from package stores, bars and restaurants, neglected to include craft breweries, wineries and distilleries in the legislation.
Alabama Guild Executive Director Jim Perkins told Alabama.com that he hopes the exclusion will be rectified in the House, after all craft beer alone generated more than $850 million in economic impact for Alabama.
“If they weigh all the ramifications, and take into account these businesses that are fighting for survival, I think they’ll take action,” he said. “It seems a very small, petty thing to be left out of a piece of legislation like this.”
And “petty” might be the correct word if this omission was more deliberate that it might first seem. Alabama’s wholesale distributors would have everything to gain if the state’s package stores, bars and restaurants were allowed to home deliver, after all, they sell directly to them.
