I subscribe to a local beer e-newsletter that is sent out daily about local brew stories/issues/conversations.  A majority of today’s post is actually part of the email that came out a few weeks ago, as it summarizes a ridiculous situation that is so symptomatic of government taking action against something that makes no sense for them to intervene in.  It doesn’t help that in the south alcohol is still demonized, yet other vices are sanctioned and deemed okay.   And even worse is that beer is not given the same playing field as wine and liquor are in the state.

Terrapin Beer Company is an Athens-based brewery that makes a fantastic selection of beers.  You’ll be amazed at the stupid issues they’ve encountered, simply by telling others of upcoming events.  Will beer-based events become underground events in Georgia, becoming as taboo as filming a snuff movie or making crystal meth?  Read the following email from them and I'll let you decide whether common sense or idiocy is the theme here.

* UPCOMING EVENTS (Yeah, Right!)
This newsletter will no longer be sent out on a monthly basis. We will be sending the Terrapin Times out quarterly from this point forward. So what does that have to do with UPCOMING EVENTS?

Well, it seems the State of Georgia has decided that it is against the law for us to tell anyone about any promotional events that we are doing. In fact Terrapin recently received a citation and is being fined for doing just that. Seriously. As hard as it may be to believe, Terrapin is being fined for listing upcoming promotions on our website.

We were also told that if someone calls us on the phone wanting to know where to find Terrapin, we are not allowed to tell them a specific retail account. We are only allowed to say, "Any package store in Athens should have our beer" or "Terrapin is in most good beer bars in your area". We are not even allowed to tell you about any upcoming beer festivals we may be attending.

So how are we supposed to promote Terrapin and actually try to grow our business? According to the State of Georgia we aren't. We must sit back and hope you somehow find us. Following State guidelines here is what our current event listings would look like:

- --Terrapin is going to be at a bar in Cumming on Monday July 10th, Snellville on Tuesday July 11th, and Roswell on Wednesday July 12th to promote the All American Imperial Pilsner.

- --Every Thursday in July we are doing an All American Imperial Pilsner pint night at a chain of beer bars throughout Atlanta. Buy a beer and keep the glass.

Honestly those listings seem pretty pointless so we just aren't going to do them any more. If we continue to list our promotions the State of GA would actually go so far as to revoke our license and put us out of business. So all we can say is please continue to visit your local taverns and hopefully we will see you there some time.


* OTHER STUPID RULES
CAVEAT: John Cochran is writing this and is expressing personal opinions that in no way reflect the views of Terrapin Beer Company. Or maybe it does. You decide.

So what other rules are breweries in GA hamstrung by?

How about the fact that when a Terrapin rep goes into a bar to attempt to convince them to carry Terrapin it is against the law for us to give them a sample? Yet it is perfectly legal for wine and liquor salespeople to leave samples.

How about the fact that as brewery reps if we walk into a package store and the shelf is empty we are not allowed to take a case from the back of the store and put it on the shelf?

How about the fact that we are prohibited from pouring our own beer at a beer festival? If a volunteer has to take a bathroom break we can only stand there and tell customers, "Sorry, you have to wait. I'm not allowed to pour the beer because I work for the company that made it."

How about the fact that we are not allowed to give anything of "value" to a retailer? That means we can not give pint glasses to a bar. They have to buy them. That means we can not give t-shirts to the staff of a restaurant. The owner has to purchase them. And of course this means we can not list promotional events on our website.

How about the fact that when breweries give tours they are not allowed in any way to sell growlers, 6-packs or kegs to anyone visiting the brewery? We are only allowed to give free samples. After all, why would we actually want the right to sell our product to the hundred or so customers that are standing in front of us at the brewery?

That starts to get into the three tier distribution system and how it works. We will leave that one alone as it is a huge can of worms. Just ask Crawford Moran, former owner of Dogwood Brewing about it.  He claims it put him out of business.