You and buy whiskey, vodka, wine, beer in the cans, beer in the bottles, why didn't we get draft beer here when we went wet.
Original Post
Replies sorted oldest to newest
quote:Originally posted by Yo Brotha from anotha Motha:
I do not know why they did it that way at first. The reason they won't do it now is because the distributors don't want to pay the cost of switching trucks and equipment to accommodate kegs.
The city would also lose a few tax dollars because there is usually more beer in a keg than there is supposed to be. Therefore someone drinks some beer without paying the correct amount of taxes.
quote:Originally posted by Yo Brotha from anotha Motha:
The biggest reason is the distributors.
quote:Originally posted by Shiroshi:
Luckily, most places i've been to that offered draft beer opted for larger serving sizes at better prices.
quote:Originally posted by bluesmann:
Did you all not look at what Mr. Pendleton, Angie and Mr. Graham is wanting, and I agree to it. It is will over due, durn if you can buy it in cans and bottles, it is time we should have it and stop the people from driving to the state line for it, after all Decatur already have it. http:///www.florenceal.org/ left hand side click onto City Calender and then onto agenda. I hope I got this site right.
quote:Originally posted by that smart chick:
Here is what the Decatur Daily said on the subject (condensed: the State Legislature has to say the local government can allow it):
...unlike any other form of alcohol, draft beer service in Alabama requires a local act of the state Legislature. A local government has to ask its legislative delegation to introduce it for a vote in Montgomery.
Why the rest of the state Legislature should care whether restaurants in any one city serve draft beer is one of many reasons cited for state constitutional reform, but that's another story. As historically practiced in Morgan County, the local delegation has to support the measure and every member of every city council and county commission has to vote to ask for it. A single dissenting vote can derail the whole process.
Twenty-three counties have that state approval, according to Capt. John Richardson, assistant director of the Alcoholic Beverage Control enforcement office in Montgomery. They are Baldwin, Barber, Bullock, Calhoun, Choctaw, Conecuh, Coosa, Covington, Escambia, Etowah, Greene, Jefferson, Lee, Macon, Madison, Marengo, Mobile, Montgomery, Shelby, St. Clair, Sumter, Tallapoosa and Tuscaloosa. Alabama has three licensed brewpubs in Montgomery, Dothan and Auburn.
The latest local government to get the legislation is Montgomery, where it has been an issue for about 20 years. City Attorney Walter Byars, who ironically represented the state's wholesale beer distributors for 25 years, helped draft the 1980 legislation.
"The reason goes back to Prohibition," Byars said. "Our laws are still antiquated. You had two of the three ABC commissioners who were almost teetotalers, and therefore you had to get their votes in order to get the legislation. Not to criticize them. It was just their view."
In the 1970s, some laws still banned so-called "open saloons," and the stereotypical image included draft beer, Byars said. To get the Legislature to approve draft-beer service, it had to retain control at the state level, Byars said. The law still contains a section allowing draft beer to be sold "in rural communities with a predominantly foreign population. . . in accordance with the habit and customs of the people of any such rural community."
So, I think it's a moot point for Florence, the permission is granted to the county, not the city, and last time I checked, Lauderdale County was dry. But, that last clause says if a bunch of drunkard foreigners settled somewhere really rural (I'm thinking Waterloo, Greenhill, Elgin?), they could open a bar with draft beer...