Grappling with Growlers

When talk turns to beer, it doesn’t take long for the topic of the tangled web of alcohol laws — particularly growler sales at breweries — to rear its convoluted head. Let’s cut through some of the red tape and explain the situation.

In 2006, Newport Storm — then the state’s lone brewery (Narragansett is contract-brewed in Rochester, NY) — started the push to legalize growler sales, which had been allowed at brewpubs for a decade. The proposal was met with resistance from wholesalers and their lobbyists, who cited the venerable merits of the alcohol distribution system, which earns them about 20% of the final cost of a six-pack, that was established after the repeal of Prohibition in 1933. But when more local craft breweries and legislators backed the cause, fresh beer-to-go got the green light.

In July 2013, Governor Lincoln Chafee signed S 0236 Substitute A, “An Act Relating to Alcoholic Beverages — Manufacturing and Wholesale Licenses,” which allowed breweries to “provide to visitors in conjunction with a tour and/or tasting, samples, clearly marked as samples, not to exceed … 72 ounces per visitor for malt beverages at the licensed plant by the manufacturer of the product of the licensed plant to visitors for off-premise consumption.”

That thicket of legalese meant that Rhode Island breweries — Bucket, Foolproof, Grey Sail, Newport Storm, and Ravenous when the bill was passed, since joined by Proclamation, Whaler’s, Crooked Current, and Tilted Barn (and Revival’s brews are now available at Brutopia) — could sell beer at their facilities. The sale of the sample is part of a tasting and/or tour (FYI, the same legalese applies to tastings: you’re purchasing the sampling experience, not the beer itself). The “72 ounces per visitor” allows the purchase of a conventional 64-ounce growler, two 32-ounce growlettes/howlers, a six-pack, three 22-ounce bombers, or a combination.

The 72-ounce limit is frustrating on both sides of the counter — it impedes the brewers’ business and dampens consumers’ likelihood to traverse the state for a half-gallon of brew. Contrast and compare: There is no cap on the number of growlers you can purchase in the Bay State; in Connecticut, customers can buy 288 ounces per visit. And the limit at Ocean State breweries is even more perplexing since there is NO limit on the number of growlers that can be purchased at brew pubs (and RI vineyards can sell multiple cases of wine).

But given the struggle that finally yielded the 72-ounce “compromise,” as one brewer called it, there is some resistance to fighting that battle all over again with the wholesalers and retailers (and their lobbyists). As one brewer told me: “It was a [long] fight to get the 72 ounces, and a big concern that we had to overcome was that if we were allowed that much, we’d start looking for more. It is frustrating that just about any other business can manufacture and sell their product, while alcohol producers need to do business with one hand tied behind our backs.” (Note: Thirty-five states now allow small brewers to self-distribute.)

It’s a tricky balancing act for all concerned. Most of the locals (except Crooked Current and Tilted Barn) are sold in stores and/or available in bars — and are distributed by the tier of the industry that fought the growler law. And the state’s breweries are at distinct tiers: The more established brands — Newport Storm, Foolproof, Grey Sail, Bucket — have a growing foothold in the marketplace, while the smaller operations could greatly benefit from more in-house sales.

There’s a move afoot to push for better beer laws (including approving tap room sales); that’s a topic for a future column. In the meantime, to enhance your beer-gathering plans, here’s a roundup of growler-filling policies; the law doesn’t require that establishments must fill their own branded jugs (as is the case in Massachusetts) but some places will only accept glassware with their logos on ’em.

Will fill outside growlers: Bucket Brewery (100 Carver St, Pawtucket), Grey Sail (63 Canal St, Westerly), Proclamation (141 Fairgrounds Rd, West Kingston), Tilted Barn (1 Helmsley Pl, Exeter), Whaler’s (1070 Kingstown Rd, Wakefield)

Will only fill their own glassware: Crooked Current (560 Mineral Spring Ave, Pawtucket), Foolproof (241Grotto Ave, Pawtucket), Newport Storm (293 JT Connell Rd)

All of the brewpubs — Brutopia/Revival (505 Atwood Ave, Cranston), Coddington (210 Coddington Hwy, Middletown), Trinity Brewhouse (186 Fountain St, Providence), and Union Station (36 Exchange Tr, Providence) — will only fill their own growlers.

But enough carping and law-parsing. Let’s end on a positive note: You can buy fresh, local beer from Woonsocket to Westerly this very weekend — so go get it! Cheers!!

For more beer news, hit my blog, bottlescansclaphands.wordpress.com and follow @BottlesCansRI.