Local breweries, Florida Brewers Guild lobby for industry changes | Brew Bend
Every year, a host of Florida craft brewery owners converge on Tallahassee to get face time with state lawmakers to discuss issues that exist within the Florida craft beer industry.
It's called the "Tallahassee Hill Climb" - because the brewers meet and collectively "climb the hill" to the Florida Capitol Building - and it's led by the Florida Brewers Guild and its executive, director Sean Nordquist, as well as a team of sharp lobbyists, led by Josh Aubuchon.
And while this week marked the first of two planned marches to the Capitol for the FBG and its band of brewers, for some reason, this year the initial push felt different.
"We have a lot of goals this year and we feel confident we can push some change," Nordquist told a crowd of brewers Tuesday night during the kickoff event at Deep Brewing, where Deep owner Ryan LaPete, fellow Tallahassee breweries and Guild members Proof Brewing and soon-to-be-open Amicus Brewing were also on hand. "I really encourage everyone to visit freedomforbeer.com - a website we created to raise awareness about what we would like to see changed - and read more about all of it."
Four big issues for breweries
At issue this year, in short, are four BIG items that continue to hinder the Florida craft beer industry's growth, as the Guild sees it. They include:
Self-distribution - Florida's Three-Tier System limits local craft breweries competitiveness against larger brands to distribute their beer. However, self-distribution — which allows the breweries to deliver beer to accounts without having to use a distributor - is permitted in 38 states around the country and is not exactly an uncommon practice. The FBG wants to bring self-distro to Florida - and they've wanted this for a very, very long time.
Franchise Law Reform - Breweries are the only beverage alcohol restricted by franchise laws. These laws are unfair and result in a "contract for life" having to be signed with a distributor, which harms the growth of Florida’s breweries who may be stuck in a "bad marriage," per se. We can't personally think of another business industry in the world where - when you sign a contract - that contract has to (by law) be for all eternity. This particular law is one we would love to see changed because it's utterly ridiculous.
Brand Registration - Often, breweries produce hundreds of recipes or variations of their beers. Current Florida law states it is required that each of these brands sold in Florida be registered. This can be expensive for smaller, innovative breweries.
Licensing fees - Breweries that produce millions of barrels of beer pay the same license fee as a small brewery in your neighborhood. For these small breweries, this disparity results in an unequal financial burden for every gallon sold.
Many outdated laws
Those are the major talking points, but the Guild also likes to remind that the topics are nothing new.
"Most of these laws have been in effect since the 1930s, well before the recent and growing boom in craft beer in our state. As an organization, the Florida Brewers Guild wants to facilitate changes that would update the current Three-Tier System of alcoholic beverage laws to better serve not just manufacturers, but retailers, and distributors for the benefit of Florida consumers," the statement reads on the FreedomForBeer.com website.
The Guild's first Hill Climb in Tallahassee - of two that are planned this year - sounded like it went well, especially after they learned they had the support of an influential state representative this year.
"#Floridacraftbeer owners and workers are taking Tally by storm today to stand up for this industry! Join the #freedomforbeer campaign!!! Have you reached out to your legislator?" the Guild posted on its official Facebook page after the Hill Climb. "Representative Anna V. Eskamani supporting our bills means supporting small businesses and the hope they had when they decided to be part of Florida’s great economy! Thank you for your time. Next Capitol Day Visit is 3/13-3/15! Make sure to RSVP!! Find out more about the Freedom for Beer campaign at www.freedomforbeer.com."
Brewery reps from Deep Brewing in Tallahassee, Aardwolf Brewing in Jacksonville, Ivanhoe Park Brewing in Orlando, Tarpon River Brewing in Fort Lauderdale and Pareidolia Brewing in Sebastian all attended the first Hill Climb on Tuesday. And they all left feeling encouraged about the initial talks.
Warm welcome at Capitol
"Having pursued legislative changes to Florida's beer laws since 2015, it was refreshing to receive a warm welcome from Legislators on Tuesday who were open and willing to discuss the changes that the FBG is advocating for," said Pareidolia Brewing owner Pete Anderson said.
We wish the Guild and Florida's craft breweries all the luck in the world getting at least one, or all, of these issues solved this year. After all, the craft beer industry in Florida continues to boom with almost 400 breweries statewide, and changing antiquated laws will only help is grow more!
Cheers to the hard work by FBG and all their member breweries! And if you're a Florida brewery out there reading this who couldn't make this Hill Climb, get on up to Tallahassee in mid-March for the next one!
We've got some pretty good beer here you can sample while you're in town.
Danny Aller is the co-founder, along with Matthew Crumbaker, of the TLH Beer Society. Reach the Beer Society on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, or email: tlhbeersociety@gmail.com.
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Tallahassee breweries, Florida Brewers Guild lobby for industry changes
