Support SB63!

Senate Bill 63 was introduced into the Georgia State Senate yesterday.  You can read the bill in its entirety here.  Creative Loafing has put together a nice summary of the bill's current status and what it contains.  Here's what Senate Bill 63 proposes:

• Breweries and brewpubs would be able to sell up to 144oz of beer for off-site consumption.  That's roughly 2 6-packs or 2 growlers.  By keeping this number low, the brewer's guild has demonstrated that they do not wish to directly compete with growler stores or distributors.

• Breweries would be able to sell up to 72oz of beer for on-site consumption.  Currently they can give away 32oz and are not allowed to charge for it.

• Brewpubs would still be limited to the product of 10,000 barrels of beer per year, 5,000 of which could be sold to a wholesaler.  Off-site sales, such as growlers, would be included in the 5,000 barrel cap.

• Breweries and brewpubs would be required to sell beer at the current market rate, preventing them from undercutting other bars, beer stores or growler stores.

This is a bill that we should all be able to get behind.  The limits on sales prevent breweries from becoming a major competitor with existing businesses.  Jobs will be created at every brewery and the state will generate additional excise tax revenue.  Georgia will also benefit from increase beer tourism.

Although this bill was introduced, it is a long way from being passed, but you can help!  David Lucas, our state senate representative in Macon, is on the Regulated Industries committee and his support is crucial.  Send Mr. Lucas an email and let him know that SB63 is important to you.  Let him know how much you enjoy the Macon Beer Company and how much you want to see them grow as a local business and that you believe SB63 is necessary to enable their success.

David Lucas - david.lucas@senate.ga.gov

If you have a few more minutes, consider emailing the other members of the Regulated Industries committee and let them know that you believe SB63 will create jobs, increase tourism and make Georgia a better place to live.

Rick Jeffares - rick.jeffares@senate.ga.gov (Chairman)
Frank Ginn - frank.ginn@senate.ga.gov (Vice-Chairman)

Josh McKoon - jrm2016@yahoo.com (Secretary)
Ed Harbison - ed.harbison@senate.ga.gov

Bill Cowsert - bill.cowsert@senate.ga.gov

Steve Henson - stevehenson@mindspring.com

Jack Hill - jack.hill@senate.ga.gov

Butch Miller - butch.miller@senate.ga.gov

Jeff Mullis - jeff.mullis@senate.ga.gov

David Shafer - david.shafer@senate.ga.gov

Renee Unterman - renee.unterman@senate.ga.gov
Brandon Beach - brandon.beach@senate.ga.gov
Steve Gooch - steve.gooch@senate.ga.gov

Support Your Local Breweries

Georgia is an interesting state when it comes to breweries.  We rank 28th in the country when it comes to the number of breweries operating on our land.  Now consider that Georgia is the 8th largest state by population.  This piece of information, drops us all the way down to 47th in the country for breweries per capita.  47th!  How is this possible?  Simple, Georgia has some of the most prohibitive laws around the brewing industry in the country.  It is difficult to open a brewery in Georgia, and it's even more difficult to make it financially successful.

Did you know...

• You can't purchase beer from a brewery.  If you visit a brewery in Georgia, you can buy t-shirts, glasses and koozies, but you can't buy the one thing they actually produce - beer.  Georgia is one of only four states where you can't buy beer from a brewery.  The others are Mississippi, West Virginia and North Dakota.
• Breweries can give away up to 32oz of beer for free, but only if you participate in the free 2 hour tour.
• Georgia has some of the highest excise taxes on beer produced by breweries.
• It is illegal for a brewery to tell you where you can purchase their beer.

Here's where the problem lies.  The craft beer industry is booming, bringing tourists and jobs to states around the country - but not Georgia.  We're missing out.  If a brewery can sell beer to the public, they need to hire the staff to do so.  If a brewery can promote their product, they can help encourage people to purchase Georgia beer over out-of-state beer.  All of these activities create additional tax revenue for the state of Georgia.  Everyone wins.  

Distributors are a necessary part of the system, and will continue to make money hand over fist, distributing out-of-state beer and local beer to bars and liquor stores.  No one is going out of business because breweries make a little extra money improving their customer experience.  If they were, distributors would be going out of business in 46 other states, but they're not.  In fact, it's a little sad that distributors view breweries as the enemy.  They have gone so far as to contribute $85,000 to prevent breweries from being able to sell beer on their premises.  All of that money, used to prevent the creation of small businesses and jobs.

What can you do?  You can sign the petition at GABeerJobs.com.  If you have the financial means to contribute to the Brewer's Guild's legislative efforts, you can contribute at their Indiegogo page.

Improved legislation that treats breweries in a similar manner to wineries will create jobs and provide additional tax revenue for the state.  Help make Georgia better for everyone and support the GABeerJobs.com campaign.

'Tis the Season

Middle Georgia is a great place to be right now if you enjoy craft beer.  This year has introduced craft beer friendly laws to allow both growler stores and on-site consumption in those stores.  More Georgia breweries are available in the area than ever before.  The success of craft beer focused businesses is evidence that we have a craving for local brews.  If you're one of the many people checking out all Georgia's beer landscape has to offer, I have an excellent gift idea for you.

A Peach State Ale Trail Passport.

What is it?  Most importantly, it's a discount program that applies to almost every brewery in the state.  Since Peach State Ale Trail is also a Macon Made business, you'll also receive discounts at local growler shops.  Each passport comes with a variety of swag and access to events, which increases with the level of passport purchased.  Passports start at $30 which make them a perfect gift, and you'll be using it all year long!

Peach State Ale Trail has partnered with the Georgia Craft Brewers Guild to bring you this discount program, so you know it's the real deal.  I know what I'm asking for for Christmas.

VOTE!

Today is election day!  This is your opportunity to tell your state and federal representatives whether or not you like the job they're doing.  By definition, their job is to represent YOU, not their party or personal interests.  Whether you're voting for Georgia's brewery freedoms or preventing companies from taxing the Internet, vote based on the issues that matter to you.  Democracy doesn't work unless you participate - get out and vote!

Monday Night Pint Night at The Rookery

Monday Night Brewing out of Atlanta has finally worked their way to a distributor that will carry them in Macon!  Their well-designed bottles and tap handles have been slowly appearing in your local beer stores and growler shops over the past couple of weeks and now they're ready for their official release party.  The Atlanta-based brewery opened in 2011 and currently offers 5 year round beers - a Pilsner, Belgian Wit, Scotch Ale, IPA and Double IPA; in addition to their seasonal offerings.  They just picked up a gold medal for Wood and Barrel-aged Beer at the Great American Beer Festival, so it would appear they know what they're doing.

Come find out for yourself!  This Thursday from 6-8 PM, one of the owners and one of the reps from Monday Night Brewing will be on hand at The Rookery to answer your questions.  Blind Pirate Double IPA and Drafty Kilt Scotch Ale will be on tap with Fu Manbrew Belgian Wit and Eye Patch IPA available in bottles.  Buy any two Monday Night beers and you'll take home a Monday Night pint glass for free.

I personally recommend the Drafty Kilt Scotch Ale.  Not many breweries in Georgia are doing Scotch ales, and Monday Night's is a great example of the style.

Event page: https://www.facebook.com/events/599658726829876/

Macon HOMEBREW at the Macon Octoberfest

This weekend marks the second annual Macon Octoberfest and this year's event is focusing on Georgia-brewed craft beer.  A variety of music acts will be performing, including an authentic polka band hailing from Atlanta.  Tickets are on sale now and range from an $8 single day admission to a $40 two-day VIP package.  The VIP packages are your best value ($25 single day, $40 both days) and include a custom 32oz stein, 32oz of beer (or 8 4oz samples), a Bavarian meal prepared by Grow and access to priority seating, bathrooms and draft options.

Your hometown favorites, Macon Beer Company, will also be debuting their new seasonal offering at the Macon Octoberfest.  Eager to know more about their next offering, I sent a few questions over to Jeremy Knowles to see what they have in store.  Here's what Jeremy had to say.

What is the name and style of the beer you're brewing for Macon Octoberfest?

The brand is HOMEBREW. Using this brand as a medium, we plan on identifying up and coming homebrewers by showcasing a developed recipe and making it commercially available. This batch is our first and the homebrewer is CJ Holmes. CJ won last year's Octoberfest homebrew competition and he won with a peach IPA.

What all can you tell us about the Octoberfest beer?

This round of HOMEBREW is a Peach IPA. It is a 7.3% ABV, has around 70 IBU's and is hopped with Millennium and Glacier hops. Macon Beer Company partnered with Lane Southern Orchards to get the peaches from the Ft Valley location.

When were the peaches added to the beer and why did you choose that stage in the brewing process?

Peach puree was provided by Lane Southern Orchards and we added it to secondary fermentation. At Macon Beer Company we propagate our yeast from batch to batch so adding the peaches before secondary would likely result in our next few batches having some peach aroma or flavor. We didn't want to continue the peach theme but we wanted to have active yeast on the peach to get the flavor profile most closely matching the homebrewer's recipe. It made the most sense to rack the beer with some active yeast onto the peaches.

Macon Music seemed to be a big success, is this beer similar to Macon Music?

Though both MUSIC and this year's version of HOMEBREW are both IPA's, the comparison really stops there. MUSIC was more of a traditional IPA where hop overtones are the focus. HOMEBREW has a deep fruit aroma and finishes slightly tart but peach is really the focus.

After the Macon Octoberfest, will this beer be available around town?

The beer will be debuted at Octoberfest and will be featured around town. Supplies are limited but the brand will be available after Octoberfest.

What's your favorite thing about the Macon Octoberfest event?

The support the Octoberfest leadership offers to the Macon community through donation and engagement is really my favorite thing about the festival. It's also great the festival showcases Georgia craft beers. Georgia's, and really the southeastern US craft beer scene is booming. Not many festivals have caught on that Georgia has great craft beer and even fewer are brave enough to limit the breweries to only Georgia craft.

When will the next Macon Beer Company seasonal beer come out? Can you give us any details about it?

Macon Beer Company is still a company in startup mode. We're going to take some time to better equip ourselves for the upcoming year. Our next seasonal will be Macon Love and will be released in March in conjunction with Macon's Cherry Blossom Festival.

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Congratulations to CJ and we all look forward to trying out your recipe as the very first Macon HOMEBREW!  The Macon Octoberfest is this Friday and Saturday and it looks to be a great weekend for it.  Tattnall Square Park is the location, and yes, the Atlanta German Polka Band will be playing both Friday and Saturday.  It's not Octoberfest without beer steins and polka!

Purchase your tickets here for the Macon Octoberfest and save a few bucks!

Georgia Picks Up Some GABF Hardware

The Great American Beer Festival is an annual beer festival in Denver, Colorado that is in its 33rd year.  From the consumer end, this is the country's largest beer festival, featuring 700 breweries, 49,000 attendees and spread over 3 days.  From the brewer end, it's also an opportunity to compete with breweries across the country for awards in 90 different categories of beer styles.  This year Georgia brought home 3 medals.  Here are your winners.

Creature Comforts - Curiosity No. 2
Bronze - American-style Brett Beer
From the Creature Comforts website: Our first bottled beer in the curiosity series of beers. Curiosity is a blonde American Brett beer refermented with kiwi and pineapple juice. This beer is fermented with our house Brettanomyces blend.

Coastal Empire - Dawn Patrol Breakfast Stout
Bronze - Herb and Spice Beer
From the Coastal Empire website: No information currently available.

Monday Night Brewing - Bourbon Barrel Drafty Kilt
Gold - Wood and Barrel-aged Beer
From the Monday Night website: What do Scotland and the American South have in common? An appreciation for good booze. But that doesn’t mean they always get along. We put our award-winning Drafty Kilt Scotch Ale in Kentucky bourbon barrels and let them duke it out in the cellar. Who won? You did. The chocolate, caramel, and roasted malts in Drafty Kilt complement the charred oak and vanilla notes in the bourbon barrels quite well. Notice we didn’t say “compliment.” Scotch and Bourbon still don’t send each other Christmas cards.

Congratulations to all three breweries on an excellent showing!

Check out all the winners here.