Will Florida Lawmakers Finally Toast to Growlers?
Florida lawmakers this session will be debating a ban on 64-ounce craft brewery growlers, an example of red tape that hampers tourism and job creation.
But will they belly up to the bar and repeal the ban, or leave it on the books?
At present, Florida has an unusual regulatory law that allows craft breweries to sell containers of draft beer known as “growlers” in bottles up to 32 ounces and containers with more than 128 ounces. But industry-standard growlers are banned in the state.
NFIB/Florida supports allowing the craft brew industry to bottle their product in industry standard sized bottles as part of its 2015 Small Business Agenda.
“The craft beer industry in Florida has been exploding in the last few years with craft breweries popping up in cities across Florida,” says NFIB/Florida Executive Director Bill Herle. “With those craft breweries has come jobs and tourism.”
Any growlers falling between 32 and 128 ounces are illegal in Florida today; however, nationwide industry standard size is 64 ounces.
Florida craft brewers tried to right this wrong in the 2014 legislative session but were rebuffed by large beer manufacturers and distributors that tried to use the 64 ounce growler issue to institute new job killing regulations on this up-and-coming industry.
