Legislative

Fill the form out below to learn more about the state senator and state representative that represent you in Montgomery, their position on the Brewery Modernization Act, and their voting record on previous Free the Hops' legislation.

Find your legislators Address: City: State: AL privacy statementFree the Hops does not actively archive or store your address and will never share the information entered into this form without your consent except where required by law.

The Brewery Modernization Act

After passage of the Gourmet Beer Bill in 2009, Free the Hops decided to focus on brewery and brewpub reform for the 2010 legislative session. The intent of our legislation is to make easier and more profitable to open and operate a brewery in Alabama.

The Brewery Modernization Act as introduced can be read here. The following is a summary of the bill:

1. Ends the distinct definition of brewpub. Any licensed manufacturer of beer is now just called a "brewery."
2. The specific restrictions on brewpubs don't carry-over. Currently, a "brewpub" in Alabama must be located in a historic building, may only brew a limited quantity of beer annually, must have a restaurant, and must be located in a county that had a brewery before 1919.
3. The "breweries" can sell their beer at retail for on-premise consumption and/or they can sell to wholesalers so that their beer is available at third-party retail stores. So the existing "brewpubs" in Alabama (i.e. Montgomery Brewing and Hurricane Brewing) can continue doing what they're doing PLUS they can sell their beer elsewhere. Existing distributing breweries (i.e. Olde Towne and Good People) can continue doing what they're doing PLUS they can sell their beer at the brewery in a tap room. The brewery will also be able to purchase other brands of beer from wholesalers to sell for on-premise consumption.
4. The bill specifically allows tours and samples at the brewery.
5. The bill has a provision that specifically allows breweries to have their beer at Special Events Retail License events. We put this in here so that any brewery/brewpub in the state can show up at our brewfests.

The Gourmet Beer Bill

Before passage of the Gourmet Beer Bill. the alcohol by volume (ABV) in beer sold and brewed in Alabama was limited to 6%. The first agenda for Free the Hops was to increase that limit to 13.9% ABV, thus allowing a wide variety of new craft beers to enter the market.

On May 22, 2009, Governor Riley signed the Gourmet Beer Bill into law. This completed our first legislative agenda for reforming Alabama's beer laws. In order to become law, the bill needed to pass a BIR (Budget Isolation Resolution) with a 3/5 supermajority and a final passage vote with a simple majority in both chambers of the state legislature and be signed into law by the Governor.