Bill in Georgia Senate seeks to change how Georgia breweries sell beer

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.

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.

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