Bigger beer means different things for Hanceville, Cullman sellers

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August 1, 2012

Bigger beer means different things for Hanceville, Cullman sellers

By Benjamin Bullard The Cullman Times The Cullman Times Wed Aug 01, 2012, 01:10 PM CDT

A new beer law that takes effect across Alabama today will mean different things to retailers in the county’s two wet cities — for now.

The law, which makes it legal to sell beer in individual containers up to 25.4 ounces, supplants an older law limiting container size to 16 ounces. The state legislature passed the so-called “Gourmet Bottle Bill” in May, mollifying craft beer enthusiasts statewide who had pushed the legislature to ease restrictions that had kept many high-end, small-batch gourmet beers off-limits to Alabama drinkers.

Hanceville’s alcohol ordinance already allows the sale of high-gravity beers, as well as the sale of single-container beverages. The City of Cullman, on the other hand, allows the sale of high-gravity beers — but does not allow single-container sales.

That doesn’t mean stores in Cullman won’t be carrying the 25.4-ounce bottles, though — it just means it will take some time for retailers and the city to reach an understanding on how to interpret the city’s standing ordinance — or to amend it altogether.

“There’s been a lot of interest in it,” said Rob Werner, owner of Werner’s Trading Company in Cullman Tuesday.

“It may take a couple of weeks, but I will definitely be selling it — I’ve already made room. I certainly don’t want to go against anything that the city is saying, but the craft beers are going to be different. It’s mainly stuff that you can’t normally get in a 6-pack or a 12-pack; it’s the same thing, really, as selling a bottle of wine.”

Cullman alcohol compliance officer Freddie Day said the city council will likely have to alter the language in its existing ordinance to accommodate store owners who plan to stock the larger bottles.

“I’ve talked to the mayor and council about it, and I think that’s what’s going to have to be done in order for it to be sold here,” said Day.

“At the time it was passed, that part of our ordinance was intended to prevent stores from having display barrels of single beers on ice for sale, but we didn’t know that the larger craft beers were going to be available. Most of the other cities have already prepared to sell, but I think we are going to have to tweak our ordinance in order for it to be sold here.”

Eddie Hamm, owner of the Pop-A-Top package store on U.S. Highway 31 in Hanceville, hopes the few businesses selling beer in his town will benefit from the business of craft beer lovers in Cullman who’ll make the short trip south to buy larger-bottle singles they can’t yet buy at home.

“We’re going to be ready to go tomorrow,” said Hamm Tuesday. “We’ve already got folks in here right now, getting everything ready. Unlike Cullman, the stores in Hanceville will be able to stock not just the craft beers in single bottles, but the Budweisers and the Miller Lites and all of the mainstream beers that more people buy.”

Until Gov. Robert Bentley signed the bill into law May 16, Alabama had been the only U.S. state to cap individual malt beverage containers at 16 ounces. The sale of 40-ounce malt beverages in Alabama remains illegal.

* Benjamin Bullard can be reached by e-mail at bbullard@cullmantimes.com or by telephone at 734-2131 ext. 270.

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Bigger beer means different things for Hanceville, Cullman sellers

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