North Carolina Contract Brewing Bill Finds New Life
Last month, a pair of craft-friendly bills in North Carolina that would have dramatically raised the self-distribution cap and legalized contract brewing in the state failed to make it out of committee. Now, Creative Loafing Charlotte reports some of the less contentious language from one of those bills has reemerged as part of a broader alcohol regulation initiative that has been making headway.
House Bill 909, according to Creative Loafing, was initially introduced as a short bill to allow for sales of “antique spirituous liquor,” or, “products that have not been in production for the last 20 years.” As the bill has made its way through the House and Senate, a number of amendments have been added, however, including one that would allow for contract brewing in the state.
As noted by Creative Loafing, the first bill that attempted to legalize contract brewing may have failed because it was attached to more divisive language that sought to clarify that the self-distribution limit does not include beer sold to consumers at the point of production. House Bill 278, which aimed to raise the self-distribution cap altogether from 25,000 to 100,000 barrels, also died in committee.
Another amendment to the bill legalizes cider growler fills at bars and restaurants, putting the alcoholic apple drinks in line with beer regulations.
Alabama Aims to Free the Growler
Alabama lawmakers have introduced a bill that would allow for craft breweries and brewpubs to sell growlers to consumers for off-premise consumption, reports AL.com. Currently, all beer sold directly by breweries to customers must be consumed on-premise, according to the article. The measure that would change that – Senate Bill 452 – is actually a scaled back version of a broader attempt that has failed to take root in loosening take-home sales restrictions. According to the website, the Alabama Wholesale Beer Association has opposed previous efforts to rein in the regulation, but has not yet taken a position on this latest bill.
Drizly Raises $13 Million in Series A Financing
Drizly, an app-based beer, wine, and liquor delivery service, has raised $13 million in Series A financing from Polaris Partners, the company announced this week. First Beverage Group and other existing investors also participated in the latest round of fundraising. According to a press release, Drizly plans to use the money to continue expanding. “Off-premise alcohol sales is a $100 billion business that’s untouched by technology,” said Pat Kinsel, venture partner with Polaris Partners and new member of the Drizly Board in the statement. “With Drizly, we are investing in a legal framework that connects alcohol supply and demand with full support of the industry players, who are all eager to see how innovation will transform their business.”
Devils Backbone One of the Fastest Growing Businesses in Virginia
Devils Backbone of Roseland, Va. has been ranked as the 17th fastest growing business in the entire state, according to the Virginia Chamber of Commerce. The award, given last month at Virginia’s Fantastic 50 Awards Banquet, was based on total sales and growth of the company in 2014, according to News Advance. “Our intentions were to build a local pub so the neighborhood could gather around it and that was that,” brewery founder Steve Crandall told the website. “We are really blessed by the whole experience.”
Saint Archer Releases the Path Unseen
Just two-and-a-half years after opening, Saint Archer Brewing is a 35,000-barrel per year operation. But things weren’t always so smooth. The San Diego-based company has just released “The Path Unseen,” an 11-minute short film about the history of the company, which is backed still by a number of prominent surfers, skateboarders and other action athletes, explaining how it all came together. “People have the misconception that these athletes, they’re swimming in money and that’s just not the case. A lot of them are living paycheck to paycheck and figuring out how to get by,” founder Josh Landan says in the video. “When we were going to them to help us build this business, for a lot of guys it was hard. They believed in what we were telling them and they wanted to be a part of it, but guys were giving me their whole life savings.”
The video can be seen below.
THE PATH UNSEEN | The story of SAINT ARCHER from Saint Archer Brewery on Vimeo.