Arizona beer bill would allow breweries to expand production, keep restaurants
Jan 12, 2015, 12:16 PM | Updated: 12:16 pm
PHOENIX — Beer will be a big talking point in the Arizona Legislature in 2015.
In November, the Arizona Capitol Times reported Four Peaks and San Tan brewing companies could lose their respective restaurants once their beer production cap is surpassed. The bill would not only prevent these breweries from losing their restaurants, but would allow microbreweries to step up production in the state.
The proposed Arizona Beer Bill, which was drafted by the Arizona Craft Brewers Guild and Beer and Wine Distributors of Arizona, and is sponsored by Arizona Sen. Kelli Ward (R-Lake Havasu City), will allow the state’s breweries to expand beyond the current annual 40,000-barrel limit without laying off employees or forfeiting their retail licenses.
“The current production cap should be updated to reflect the incredible growth of this industry and the enormously positive economic impact of microbreweries,” according to the bill’s website.
The bill would also create two levels of craft breweries in Arizona in order to promote industry growth within the state, according to the website.
The law needs to be updated to enable microbreweries to continue their success and make Arizona competitive with other states. We have had tremendous growth in this industry in Arizona, and we need legal stability and certainty to continue this growth.
The bill’s website reports all 11 member companies of the Beer and Wine Distributors of Arizona and all 57 microbrewers that comprise the Arizona Craft Brewers Guild support the Arizona Beer Bill.
Opposition has been voiced by the Arizona Wine and Spirits Wholesale Association, which consists of Alliance Beverage Distributing, Southern Wine and Spirits, and Young’s Market.
