You read about the time of prohibition in the pages of history books, and there is no surprise to anyone that it didn’t work. People have a thirst for alcoholic beverages. They did in the old days; they still do today. The problem with many of the laws on the law books to date is that they either have no relevance, or they simply have not kept up with the changing times and the globalization of the world.
Many fight to keep the Constitution and the laws contained within it status quo, while other scholars believe that it is a living and breathing document. Proponents on both sides, however, have to acknowledge that there are times when amendments have to be made to laws, or they need to be stricken altogether. No longer the Puritan community that this country was based on, the masses have changed significantly over time, as have moral and social issues that some laws are deeply rooted in.
States in the Union are allowed to have their own laws revolving around the sale of alcohol and the way that it is distributed. Many including a dui lawyer, are questioning the outdated liquor laws that plague many cities around the nation. The hospitality industry may finally have their case pleaded to override religion and moral thought to be tainting any real basis for illegality.
Towns that have outdated laws are beginning to protest the fact that they have so many restrictions on the sale of alcohol in their establishments. Not being the same across the land, there are some businesses which have harsher restrictions; that means less profitability.
For decades, there have been restaurants and eateries that have contested the laws that are antiquated, but their pleas have fallen largely on deaf ears. The tradition that holds the laws in place along the regions as the “bible belt” states of the South seemed completely immune and uninterested in changing any laws that were in place.
Due to the increase in the profitability of specialty and crafted beers, that may just be about to change. It is hard to push an industry aside when they are becoming so profitable and, therefore, gaining power. Craft brewers are being to notice that their establishments have the ability to bring cities and towns back to life and to increase the revenue of any area if they are allowed to operate to the maximum capacity.
With more money comes more ability to lobby, which may be the reason for lawmakers just last week to file legislation that would override archaic alcohol rules that are decades old and limit the ability of smaller distributors to break into the market. The long-term deals that have taken hold of the industry may be in for a shock when the market is shaken up, and new choices are available. A more free market operation, the big breweries may no longer have the hold that they once did.
Since 1971, there have been laws in place that allow distributors to be in charge. They have given smaller brewers very little recourse if they want to get out of a distributor chain even if they don’t live up to their end of any contract. The smaller breweries have been forced to pair up with other large ones such as Budweiser or Coors to become a packaged deal. That limits where they can distribute their goods and doesn’t give them very many ways to negotiate or grow.
Breweries who have wanted to end an alliance with a wholesaler, have to go to the state Alcoholic Beverages Control Commission and show a reason for their desire to change, which is often not accepted. Many in the industry liken it to someone who wants to get a divorce and is unable.
That is leaving many smaller breweries very few options to get their fair share, to expand in the industry, or to have ultimate control over their own marketing and sales. Limited by who they can distribute to, it isn’t a fair market or a free one either.
Of course, the larger breweries are against change. Why wouldn’t they be? They stand to lose a grasp on the market that has them raking in the profits and dominating the market. Domestic beers have a hold on the beer industry that limits any other beer company from being competitive. Just one of the archaic laws on the books, often it takes money, power, lobbying and will, to take away unfair rights from those who have always had it. Likely, there is a big fight ahead in the beer industry.
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