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07-18-2009, 02:16 PM #1
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NC-Beer may join grocery samples
Beer may join grocery samples
Bill would allow brewers to hand out tiny tastes this fall
BY JENNIFER KLAHRE, Staff Writer
RALEIGH - If you find yourself in a grocery aisle this fall, torn between Brawny and Bounty, don't be surprised if you get a tap on the shoulder offering you free, fresh ale.
The North Carolina legislature next week may pass a law that would permit beer companies to hold tasting sessions in food stores such as Harris Teeter, Lowes Foods and Kroger.
The bill is the latest indication that North Carolina is gradually shedding blue-law attitudes toward alcohol. Four years ago, the legislature adjusted the allowable alcohol content of beer from 6 to 15 percent, while a growing number of cities and counties are allowing restaurants to serve liquor by the glass, something Chatham County residents overwhelmingly approved just last year.
The bill would allow breweries, importers and distributors to offer samples of their products in grocery aisles, something wine sellers have been able to do since 2001.
The Senate approved the bill this week. The House, which passed an earlier version of the bill, will take a final vote next week, possibly allowing tastings to commence Oct. 1.
"It's a way to market and promote new products they want to sell a little bit more of," said Dean Plunkett, executive director of N.C. Beer and Wine Wholesalers Association in Raleigh. "So if a brewery brings a new beer into North Carolina, not everyone knows what it's like, so they hold a tasting. It's just like people trying a new wine or cracker before they buy it."
Opponents argue that offering free beer in supermarkets, even in sample-size cups, isn't a good idea.
"Beer is not like wine," said Mark Creech, executive director of Christian Action League. "Because it is the beverage of choice, there's more potential for abuse and alcohol related problems."
But North Carolina's beer culture has been rapidly growing, nurtured in part by the World Beer Festival events held in Raleigh and Durham.
"I think we're the hottest state in the country right now," said Brad Wynn, owner of Big Boss Tap Room in Raleigh. "The festival has really put us on the map as far as being able to brew what we want and it changed the culture.
"North Carolina as a whole has really embraced good beer unbelievably well, and that includes retailers."
Small breweries such as Raleigh's Big Boss Brewing Company are eager to have the public sample their newer, seasonal beverages. Along with year-round brews such as Hell's Belle Belgian Blond and Bad Penny Brown Ale, the three-year-old company offers Blanco Diablo Wit Ale in the summer months and Aces & Ates Coffee Stout Ale in the winter.
"I think it will help the seasonals because they're only here for six or eight weeks a year," Big Boss Brewing owner Geoff Lamb said. "If people see our beers more consistently then over time it will boost their popularity."
'Economic engine'
The bill says that North Carolina wineries have blossomed into a $1 billion industry and served as an "economic engine" since 2001. Wine tastings are now held in grocery stores, including Harris Teeter and Whole Foods, which host 90 percent of tastings in the area, said Rep. Thom Tillis, a Republican from Mecklenburg County who sponsored the bill.
Tillis says it is difficult for microbreweries to compete with larger beermakers' marketing power and that tastings will help. It also will raise $100,000 in revenue for the state in the first year through $100 permit purchases, he said.
Plunkett, of the beer and wine wholesalers group, said many of the microbrewed beers are very different from regular domestics. To draw customers in, he said, there must be an opportunity to market them.
"If a person goes into a grocery store and sees a product on the shelf for $8, they may not risk buying it because they haven't tasted it," said Andy Ellen, a general counsel of the N.C. Merchants Association.
The Alcohol Law Enforcement division and ABC Commission have not received complaints about wine tastings in supermarkets, Tillis said. And Plunkett expects beer tastings to follow the same pattern. Only two ounces of a particular beer can be tasted at a time and no one can consume more than four different samples, according to the bill.
Still, Creech, of the Christian Action League, has misgivings. He thinks the bill will worsen underage drinking.
"Tasting events will be allowed where youth will walk into grocery stores and see and hear adults praising beer," Creech said. "We have to be careful about giving the impression that it's something for you to aspire to because it presents a threat to some degree."
Tillis disagrees, saying children can be influenced by their parents or other adults at any location.
"I would think that taking kids to a football game and having a beer or two while watching the game would have a far more profound impact on you than watching your parents maybe try a taste of beer at a grocery store," he said. "The singular example for bad role models is a bit of a stretch."
And local brewers say their products are for tasting, not guzzling.
"We take a lot of pride in what we create," said Sumit Vohra, owner of LoneRider Brewing Company in Raleigh. "And we love to share and explain how one brew differs from the other."
jklahre@newsobserver.com or 919-829-4774
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07-18-2009, 03:11 PM #2AprilGuestRALEIGH - If you find yourself in a grocery aisle this fall, torn between Brawny and Bounty, don't be surprised if you get a tap on the shoulder offering you free, fresh ale.
The North Carolina legislature next week may pass a law that would permit beer companies to hold tasting sessions in food stores such as Harris Teeter, Lowes Foods and Kroger.
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07-18-2009, 03:26 PM #3
Yes, the lawmakers think if they can get enough of the residents drunk for long periods of time, no one will notice how they are getting screwed over with all of the new taxes.
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07-18-2009, 03:57 PM #4
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Great point jp! I figured it was only the grocer's association wanting to make us all so drunk that we don't notice their continual price increases.
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07-18-2009, 06:02 PM #5Originally Posted by vortexJoin our efforts to Secure America's Borders and End Illegal Immigration by Joining ALIPAC's E-Mail Alerts network (CLICK HERE)
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07-18-2009, 07:28 PM #6AprilGuestOriginally Posted by jp_48504
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07-18-2009, 09:00 PM #7
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Rockfish, I assume you have not yet seen anyone totally snockered, squinting at the shopping list while belting out Broadway tunes or talking to themselves in the pasta aisle. This is going to be fun to watch!
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03-27-2024, 11:36 PM in General Discussion