Latest Bill Would 'Lift the Cap' on Brewers to the tune of 200,000 Barrels | Eastern North Carolina Now

    Publisher's note: The author of this post is Kari Travis, who is an associate editor for the Carolina Journal, John Hood Publisher.

    RALEIGH     Craft beer is on tap at the state legislature, where lawmakers have introduced three bills to roll back laws that stifle unprecedented growth in the brewing industry.

    On Tuesday, Rep. Chuck McGrady, R-Henderson, announced House Bill 500, which would allow local beer operations to self-distribute up to 200,000 barrels of their product.

    Current law mandates that any brewery producing more than 25,000 barrels must sell its product through a wholesale distributor.

    Two other similar bills were introduced earlier this month.

    House Bill 67, sponsored by Rep. Michael Speciale, R-Craven, would increase the cap from 25,000 barrels per year to 100,000 barrels. Senate Bill 313 allows brewers to self-distribute if they produce fewer than 103,091 barrels. Sens. Jeff Tarte, R-Mecklenburg; Joyce Krawiec, R-Forsyth; and Jeff Jackson, D-Mecklenburg; are that bill's primary sponsors.

    Breweries such as Olde Mecklenburg - which projects it will exceed the 25,000-barrel cap this year - will suffer if forced to lay-off its distribution staff and sell its delivery trucks, said founder John Marrino.

    The average distributor carries about 900 types of beer, making it difficult for smaller breweries to compete when forced to channel their products through a wholesaler, Marrino said.

    Red Oak Brewery in Whitsett, and NoDa Brewery in Charlotte, are also approaching the production threshold.

    It's time to ease-off regulations for craft brewers bringing jobs to their communities, McGrady said.

    H.B. 500 clarifies some of North Carolina's most complex alcohol laws, McGrady said. The legislation permits breweries to provide tastings for customers during tours, for instance.

    "The more I handle alcoholic beverage legislation, the more clear it has become to me that we need regulatory reform," he said.

    "Prohibiting distribution at an arbitrary limit and forcing breweries to hand over their brand, layoff their distribution employees and sell their trucks when they want to expand just doesn't make any sense to me."