On Wednesday (5/13), the Brewery Job Bill – SB452 – proposed by the Alabama Brewers Guild passed unanimously out of the State Committee. Next stop is passing the full Senate. Let’s help the Alabama Brewers Guild get growler sales from the breweries! Go to http://www.freethehops.org/legislative, enter your address to find your state senator, and tell him or her that you want them to support brewery jobs.
Alabama is the only state that prohibits to-go sales from the brewery or brewpub. SB452 would remove this restriction, allow a bare minimum of growler sales from the brewery, and allow Alabama breweries to compete fairly with the rest of the country. This will lead to new jobs, increased tourism, and new investment in Alabama.
While the local brewing industry has experienced rapid growth in recent years, Alabama is still ranked 50th in economic impact per capita from craft beer. If Alabama were to achieve 2012 national averages, it would add roughly $284 million to state GDP and create nearly 2,500 full-time jobs (PDF). SB452 will not create 2,500 jobs by itself, but removing this unfair restriction on the local brewing industry is a necessary first step.
Help us remove Alabama’s unfair restriction on growler sales from the brewery or brewpub and help us grow craft beer in Alabama!
Telephone calls have a big impact on politicians. If you can, please call your senator’s office on Monday and leave a brief message of support for this important job creation bill in addition to any other
messages you send.
Call your senator, then send an email as followup, asking him/her to vote YES for SB452.
