ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) – After a year of lobbying, breweries have legislation on the table that could change how you get your beer from your favorite local brewery.
Frog Rock Brewery Owner Robert Friess has a petition at his brewery that could change how breweries sell to customers.
SB 163 would give brewers control of how their beer will be distributed and eliminate a limit on sales made elsewhere.
“If you look across Georgia at these real towns, many of them have developed around breweries. We have a couple of restaurants in the local area that want to have our beer on draft, we’ve called local distributors but they haven’t called us back, but that’s what we really need to make this thrive,” said Friess.
Advertisement
Without a distributor, he can’t sell to restaurants, bars, or liquor stores. Customers can only buy beer at his brewery.
According to the Georgia Public Policy Foundation, the number of craft breweries increased from 45 to 155 between 2015 and 2021. They support the bill and feel Georgia’s antiquated distribution laws requiring wholesaler involvement are hindering additional growth.
“Efforts to change distribution laws will weaken a system that offers safeguards for our youth, provides more than 5,000 jobs statewide, ensures a consistent revenue stream to state and local government, and, most importantly, guarantees thousands of choices of good beer on store shelves, at bars and in local breweries,” the Georgia Beer Wholesalers Association said.
As of January, the petition going to state lawmakers has over 7,000 signatures.
STATESBORO, Ga. (WTOC) – Just ten days prior to Georgia Southern’s matchup against Georgia State on Saturday, the Eagles picked up their first Sun Belt win in Atlanta against the Panthers. However, the script was flipped the second time around, as Georgia State pulled out an 88-83 win in triple overtime.
After trailing 22-11 after the first quarter, the Eagles came back to make it a 5-point game at the half. Georgia Southern led by three with under a minute left in regulation, but Georgia State hit a three-pointer to send it to the first overtime period.
In overtime, the Eagles trailed by four with 15 seconds left on the clock, but this time it was Southern with a clutch shot — Paris Gaines made a three-pointer to bring the Eagles within one. She followed it up by making one of two free throws to send it to double OT.
In double overtime, Shanti Simmons made a layup with 5 seconds remaining to tie the game at 76 and push it to triple OT. In that final period, Georgia Southern had possession trailing by one with under a minute to play, but the Panthers got a steal, extended their lead, and went on to get the win 88-83.
Advertisement
Simmons led the way for the Eagles with 22 points. Mckenna Eddings followed not far behind with 20, while Gaines made some clutch baskets in extra time.
“This was a tough one,” said head coach Hana Haden. “I think that this will probably be a tough one for everyone to get over — you’re that close. I think for us, something that we’ve been talking about for a lot of the year is trying to play for 40 minutes, and now tonight, we had to play for 55 minutes, and I think if you clean up some things in the first 40 minutes, then maybe it doesn’t have to come to that. It’s really tough whenever you fight as hard as our group did.”
JONESBORO, Ark. (AP) — Joseph Pinion scored 14 points as Arkansas State beat Georgia State 85-59 on Saturday.
Pinion shot 5 for 10, including 4 for 9 from beyond the arc for the Red Wolves (14-5, 5-2 Sun Belt Conference). Taryn Todd scored 12 points and added six rebounds and five assists. Izaiyah Nelson had eight points and finished 4 of 8 from the floor.
Advertisement
The Panthers (7-12, 3-4) were led in scoring by Nicholas McMullen, who finished with 15 points and 12 rebounds. Cesare Edwards added 15 points, 10 rebounds and two blocks for Georgia State. Jelani Hamilton also recorded 13 points and two steals.
Both teams play again on Thursday. Arkansas State hosts Appalachian State and Georgia State hosts Marshall.
___
The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
Bird flu was detected in a commercial poultry flock in Georgia for the first time since the current outbreak started in 2022, officials announced on Friday.
The positive case of the H5N1 strain of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza was found in Elbert County. It was confirmed by the Georgia Department of Agriculture (GDA) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
This marks the fifth detection of the virus in a flock in the state, but the first one in a commercial poultry operation. Last week, GDA officials announced that the virus was found in a flock of 13 chickens and ducks in Clayton County.
“This is a serious threat to Georgia’s number one industry and the livelihoods of thousands of Georgians who make their living in our state’s poultry industry,” said Georgia Agriculture Commissioner Tyler Harper. “We are working around the clock to mitigate any further spread of the disease and ensure that normal poultry activities in Georgia can resume as quickly as possible.”
As a result of the detection, all in-state poultry exhibitions, shows, swaps, meets and sales have been suspended until further notice.
Advertisement
Earlier this year, a Louisiana resident died after being hospitalized with bird flu, marking the first U.S. death from the H5N1 virus.
Since 2003, the World Health Organization has counted more than 400 deaths from the virus.
Camille Knox
Advertisement
Camille C. Knox is a senior editor at CBSNnews.com. She is a graduate of Michigan State University. Prior to joining CBS News, she served as a reporter and editor for publications that include Snopes, the Tampa Bay Times, The Clarion-Ledger and AOL’s Patch.