REPORT ON BILLS FAVORABLY REPORTED BY COMMITTEE

TITLE OF BILL:

AN ACT AUTHORIZING THE RETAIL SALE OF BEER BY PERSONS WHO HOLD A MANUFACTURER PERMIT FOR BEER OR A BREW PUB.

SPONSORS OF BILL:

REASONS FOR BILL:

To increase tourism in Connecticut by allowing individuals touring brew pubs to purchase beer for personal consumption off the premises.

RESPONSE FROM ADMINISTRATION/AGENCY:

Walter Pawelkiewicz, Representative for the 49^th district

Rep. Pawelkiewicz was in support of this bill. He stated, “This bill will allow micro-brew pubs the same benefits which Connecticut wineries enjoy and will increase tourism in Connecticut.”

Rep. Pawelkiewicz offered a brief four-point summarization of the language attached to his written testimony.

Oral and written testimony.

NATURE AND SOURCES OF SUPPORT:

Bill and Kathy Schultz, Mike and Leda Vincent

“By supporting this bill, you will support small local brewpubs and help to bolster the CT economy through tourism dollars and potential tax revenue. It is very hard to imagine a bill like this doesn’t already exist here in CT, when it does in every other state in the northeast-Maine, NH, VT, MA, RI, NY, NJ, PA, OH, MD, VA.” Written testimony.

Chris Sullivan

Mr. Sullivan is in support of HB-6071. He also enclosed a 1300+ petition of signatures in support of this bill. “This bill is important in regards to fairness. Connecticut wineries have been able to sell their product directly to the consumer for years. Connecticut’s microbreweries should be given the same ability to sell directly to consumers that visit the brewery.”

“It is important for the laws of our state to be amended to give support to the local microbreweries and brew pubs in Connecticut. Supporting these breweries in turn supports a Connecticut produced product and promotes a small business person across the state.” Oral and written testimony.

Timothy Morse, John Harvard’s Brew House

Mr. Morse supports HB-6071. He feels that this legislation will not affect package stores or interfere with the three-tier process. Mr. Morse also testified that surrounding states allow brew pubs to sell “glass packages”. “In Rhode Island, let’s say, with a $9 million in beer revenue in the state, the beer that brew pubs sell in the state is less than 2/10ths of a percent of the total revenue.” Oral testimony.

David Wollner, Willimantic Brewing Company

Mr. Wollner supports HB-6071. Wollner states, Willimantic Brewing Company along with other brew pubs and microbreweries “tried to form a Connecticut Craft Brewers Association many years ago…and we actually did put an ad in the Connecticut Vacation Guide about where the beer flows in Connecticut.” Oral testimony.

Nancy Dornenburg, T.B. Brewery

“We are in support of this bill because even though we don’t have the restaurant piece of it, this is going to give us market access that currently we’re lacking.” Oral testimony.

Robert Leonard, The New England Brewing Company

Mr. Leonard supports HB-6071. “I give many tours to people who are interested, travelers who come into the brewery and it’s kind of a wet blanket at the end of the tour when they ask if they can buy some beer. I have to give them directions to go to a liquor store and it would just be a nice thing to extend the courtesy to brew pubs and breweries that the wineries have in Connecticut, to give them a growler of beer. It’s more of a convenience and the size of it, it seems like people are getting hung up on it. It’s a half-gallon jug which is just more convenient for the brew pubs to fill rather than filling individual bottles because they don’t have the machinery to do that. And it’s not intended to be, you know, drunk from the jug. It’s intended to be shared. It’s basically the equivalent of a six pack that you can share with friends and bring home.” Oral testimony.

Steven Boucino, The Cambridge Brew House Restaurant and Pub

Mr. Boucino supports HB-6071. The Cambridge Brew House Restaurant and Pub was not open as of February, but was supposed to be opening its doors in March. He states, “It is my belief that by allowing brew pubs to sell their handcrafted product for offsite consumption will not only create a new revenue system for the brewery but will also provide a chance to expose new people to other services such as our food sales and gift shop sales.” This bill will allow The Cambridge Brew House Restaurant and Pub to “participate with many out-of-state tour groups that routinely conduct organized brewery and brew pub tours for the respective organizations.” Oral testimony.

Jay DuMond, City Steam Brewey

Mr. DuMond supports HB-6071. He states, “In our particular situation where we have the convention center opening and bringing in two or three hundred thousand people I think just between June and the end of the year to be able to have those conventioneers leave the state with a sampling of Trout Brook Beer or City Steam Beer I think will go well to promote the image of the state instead of having them take a tour of Trout Brook or coming to City Steam and at the end of the tour we might give, being told, well you can’t really take this home with you.”

“As far as quantities go, I’m not sure why that is any kind of an issue because you can go into a liquor store and walk out with 20 cases of beer and it’s not our intent to be selling that quantity, but I don’t think our quantity, it’s really the idea behind it. I don’t think it’s a quantity issue.” Oral testimony.

NATURE AND SOURCES OF OPPOSITION:

None