Cold beer anyone?
The Montgomery County delegation to the state legislature is considering a bill that would allow Montgomery County-owned liquor stores to sell chilled beer and wine in containers such as growlers.
The proposal is an extension of legislation introduced last year relaxing restrictions on county alcohol sales.
“It was more of a clarification,” said Kathie Durbin, chief of licensure, regulation and education at the department. “It’s to clarify that the beer that would be in those containers would be chilled. You can’t sell warm growlers, right?”
The county is the only one in the nation controlling wholesale liquor sales, and those products aren’t authorized to be cold due to a stipulation in state law.
The county has no intention of selling other beer that is cold, Durbin said.
An earlier bill introduced by the delegation was labeled the “Montgomery County Alcohol Modernization Act of 2018” by Del. Eric Luedtke, and went into effect July 1.
The legislation lowered the age of alcohol store employees allowed to deliver alcohol from 21 to 18, and allowed entities such as bowling alleys, billiard halls and pharmacies to obtain beer-sale licenses, among other changes.
Luedtke also planned to introduce a bill allowing county-run alcohol stores to operate inside grocery stores in Montgomery County.
The stipulations such as preventing the sale of cold beer at county stores are meant to limit competition with the carryouts, Durbin said.
There are 25 county-owned stores and approximately 325 private businesses with off-sale privileges, Durbin said.
Justin McInerny, the operator of Capital Beer & Wine in Bethesda and the county’s representative in the Maryland State Licensed Beverage Association, said the group opposes cold beer and wine sales by the county but doesn’t have a position on the recent bill.
“It’s a little bit confusing when you read it, because you just see cold beer and wine and the retailers get a little bit anxious, but you actually read it and it really just clarified the law that’s been in effect,” McInerny said.
The association is against incremental changes regarding county-run alcohol store laws and McInerny said he will continue to testify at bill hearings on related legislation.
“We just certainly don’t want them to be selling cold bottles and cans of beer and wine,” McInerny said. “Growlers are something we can live with, we’re not excited about it.”
The rise in craft brewing has renewed interest in beer sales in growlers — larger, refillable containers for takeout.
