West Chester Dish

Photo by tanakawho, under Creative Commons License

No, I’m not encouraging you to exercise. In fact, I’m going to tell you how it may soon be easier to grow your gut. Last week, our state Senate Law & Justice Committee approved House Bill 1420, which will make it easier for thirsty consumers to purchase six-packs of beer at a wider variety of places.

Currently, beer distributors are only allowed to sell cases of 24 beers, while taverns and restaurants can only sell one or two six-packs of beer at a time. Pennsylvania is the only state in the nation with laws like this — lucky us! This new beer bill attempts to chip away at our state’s archaic beer laws by allowing beer distributors to sell six-packs and allowing taverns and restaurants to sell up to three six-packs at a time. There’s even talk that supermarkets with separate, 30-seat cafes (think Wegman’s) would be allowed to sell beer. Basically, more convenient beer packages at more places.

Not everybody is thrilled with this idea. Distributors and restaurants fear that increased competition for beer sales will hurt their business. Steve, a manager at Goshen Beverage Center, explained, “We’re right behind an Acme, so that definitely puts a little bit of pressure on us. I’d say that 40% of the customers that come in just get one case [of a mainstream brand beer] a week, so if they’re at the supermarket getting whatever food items they need for that night, they’re just going to get their beer there for the convenience.”

Although Steve foresees a drop in sales of mainstream brands, he hopes that sales of craft beers will go up. “There are a lot of local breweries in Pennsylvania, so that’s a plus for us. I can definitely see us losing sales on the bigger brands (eg, Miller or Bud Light), but hopefully we’ll see more business for the Victory, Troeg’s, Dogfish Head, etc.”

Either way, Steve seemed ready to deal with the consequences. “If it happens, it happens. We’ll have to adapt to it. If they let us sell six-packs, it’s going to change our whole way of business — the way we warehouse, etc. Just kinda goes with business, I guess.”

Consumers like Joe Dorn of Exton are much more eager for the laws to take effect. “Any fan of beer knows Delaware has it right, allowing purchases down to the single bottle. It lets you find what you like and go from there.”

Of course, the bill still has a long way to go. Because of our incredibly efficient political system (oh wait) and pressure from beer distributor organizations, the bill won’t be eligible for approval until at least early 2008.

How can you get involved? Talk to your legislators. If you live in West Chester, call Senator Andy Dinniman (One North Church Street, 610.692.2112) or Representative Barb McIlvaine Smith (107 East Chestnut Street, 610.738.2160).

How do you REALLY get involved? Start making a list of what brews you want see at your local Acme. Let us know what you come up with.