Philly Beers Raid and what you need to know
Contrary to what you may have read before on here I try to keep SIDT and everything else separate unless it’s really badass news but this is something I really feel requires serious attention.
That guy up there, that’s craft beer writer, acclaimed author and winner of the 2008 Michael Jackson (not the singer) Beer Journalism Award, Lew Bryson. If there is anything going on in craft beer you need to know about, he’s the guy to talk to. I’ve had the please of meeting him 3 times previously and last Saturday while he was in Pittsburgh we met up to talk about the Philly Beer Raids from (now) 3 weeks ago.
What happened in Philly goes beyond the annoyance of not being able to buy beer where ever you want in PA. This runs much deeper to the root of the problem, the PLCB. To get you caught up to speed, 3 establishments were raided because they served “unregistered” beer. In PA you have to pay $75 to register your beer with the PLCB. The problem? the records or “the list” is grossly outdated and contains many errors and typos. Beers that are registered were being confiscated because the list was wrong. In fact the state has said you cant go by what’s on the list anymore but still use it when raiding. oh yeah, this all happened because of ONE citizens complaint.
I ask that you download or listen to the show from the website and find out what is really going on with the state of craft beer in Pennsylvania. Along with the raids Lew also addresses the Johnstown Flood tax (did you know you’re still paying that 70+ years later?) and then we end with Hart from Sharp Edge breaking down how this could impact businesses all over PA. Then contact your legislator and let them know your thoughts on PA’s archaic laws. We need to rewrite the code!
You heard it yesterday but I’m saying it again, we’re giving away some really cool prizes.
- 1 Autographed copy of March 2010 issue of Pittsburgh Magazine by Should I Drink That
- 1 year subscription to Pittsburgh magazine
- 1 $50 gift card to Piper’s Pub on the South Side – (Support your local businesses and craft beer at the same time!)
One entry per person BUT if you forward us the email you sent to your legislator (Copy/paste it in the contact form) that will count as 5 entries. To enter go to the SIDT contest page. April 15th at 11:59:59 pm EST
cheers!
