Joey Redner, owner of Cigar City Brewery in Tampa appeared on MSNBC’s “The Ed Show” on Friday, April 25 and spoke about Senate Bill 1714. The bill, as detailed in previous posts on this blog and numerous stories in the media, would essentially make it illegal for small breweries in Florida to sell their own beers that have been packaged in cans or bottles directly to patrons. Instead they would be forced to sell the beer to distributors and then buy it back at whatever market the distributor decides.
In Jacksonville, the owners of local breweries Intuition Ale Works and Engine 15 Brewing Company have issued a call to action. Both brewers have emailed their customers and asked them to write their senators and the leaders of the Anheuser-Busch distributor group Florida Beer Wholesalers Association to ask them to withdraw their support of the bill. The entire text of the email reads:
On Monday, SB 1714 is up for vote on the Senate floor. If passed, this bill would severely restrict retail operations at craft breweries in Florida.
The Beer Industry of Florida – the association for Miller-Coors distributors – has taken a stand in support of Florida’s craft breweries. Read their press release here.
Please call your local Anheuser Busch house TODAY and ask them where they stand on the issue. You can find your local Anheuser Busch distributor at this link on the Florida Beer Wholesalers Association website. Urge them to OPPOSE SB 1714!
Please also call the Florida Beer Wholesalers Association‘s lobbyist Mitch Rubin, who is pushing the bill. You can reach him here:
Florida Beer Wholesalers Association 215 South Monroe Street, Suite 340 Tallahassee, FL 32301 (850) 224-2337
The bill goes before the full senate in Florida Monday, April 28. View the entire story from MSNBC by clicking the link below. http://on.msnbc.com/1ilHs8P
The ATL Beer Guy 