ABC Commission sets public hearing on new rules for growlers | Eastern North Carolina Now

    Publisher's Note: This post appears here courtesy of the Carolina Journal. The author of this post is John Trump.

    The N.C. Alcoholic Beverage Control Commission is scheduled to hold a public hearing Wednesday morning on the permanent expansion of allowable growler sizes in North Carolina.

    The hearing is set for 10 a.m. and comes after House Bill 890, a wide-ranging alcohol bill, passed last year.

    H.B. 890, which Gov. Roy Cooper signed in September, expands the size of growlers from two liters to four and allows distillers to sell liquor when ABC stores aren't open, including on Sundays.

    The bill is proceeding on the road from passage to implementation. A "growler," as defined by law, is a "rigid glass, ceramic, plastic, aluminum, or stainless steel container with a closure or cap with a secure sealing that is no larger than 4 liters - 1.0567 gallons - into which a malt beverage or unfortified wine is pre-filled, filled, or refilled for off-premises consumption."

    "On Dec. 8, the ABC Commission proposed the permanent Expand Allowable Growler Size rule," ABC spokesman Jeff Strickland told Carolina Journal. The proposed rule, the notice of public hearing, and notice of the public written comment period were also filed with the Office of Administrative Hearings on Dec. 8 and published in the N.C. Register on Jan. 3, Strickland says.

    The public comment period runs until March 4.

    The bill also allows people to order online and pick products up from state ABC stores, although a framework for such a system is under construction. H.B. 890, among other things, also establishes a spirituous liquor council, basically a distillers' version of the N.C. Wine and Grape Council.