FOOD .

Six, the Hard Way

A bill looks to drastically change beer sales in Pennsylvania. But are we ready for it?


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Published: Sep 12, 2007

Illustration By: Evan M. Lopez

(CLICK IMAGE FOR LARGER VERSION)

Like most every other beer lover in Pennsylvania, Bill Covaleski doesn't care much for Pennsylvania's beer laws.

But Covaleski isn't just a beer drinker. He's a brewer, and he can't help but wonder if a new proposal to change the state's arcane laws — legislation that would, among other things, finally allow the state's beer distributors to sell six-packs — might be too much change, too soon.

"We are supportive of package reform," says Covaleski, owner of Downingtown's Victory Brewing Co. and vice president of the Pennsylvania Brewers Guild. "We've been supporters of package reform for the sales of six-packs ... and I think [the bill's sponsors] are doing it for the right reason. Pennsylvania is obviously an anomaly on the national level, so the laws need to evolve. But how quickly? How drastically?"

In other words, the brewers have mixed feelings about Senate Bill 674, which is likely to come before the Senate Law and Justice Committee later this month.

They certainly aren't alone.

While the bill seems to have gained the support of the state's beer consumers — who, should the law be passed, will enjoy such exotic freedoms as the ability to buy four different six-packs at their local distributor — many in the state's beer business, particularly the very distributors it would seem to help most, are concerned, saying the legislation will drastically alter the way beer business is done in Pennsylvania.

But that's exactly the point, says Ken Varhola, chief of staff to state Sen. Sean Logan, a Pittsburgh-area Democrat who is one of the bill's main sponsors.

"It's like my boss says — 'If nobody in the industry likes it, it must be good for the consumer,'" says Varhola. "And there's certainly been some pushback."

Varhola says there's no sensible reason for the state to allow a consumer to buy as many cases or 30-packs as they want — but then restrict the sale of beer in smaller quantities.

"We always say we want people to drink less, but then you make them buy 24 bottles at a time or 30 cans at a time," Varhola adds. "We don't want to put distributors out of business — we just want to make beer sales more consumer-friendly."

Still, some insist that the bill — at least as it's written now — is flawed.

Bars, delis, six-pack shops and restaurants — some of which are currently allowed to sell six-packs and up to 12 total beers at a time — complain that allowing distributors to get into the six-pack business could pinch their bottom line, or at least force them to drop prices (no complaints from drinkers there). Distributors, meanwhile, are upset about another of the bill's provisions — the one that would allow those same bars, delis and restaurants to sell up to 18 beers at a time. That change, distributors worry, could eventually bring convenience stores or, even more ominously, supermarkets into the beer business.

But Mark Meyer, chief of staff for bill sponsor John C. Rafferty Jr., a Republican state senator representing Chester, Berks and Montgomery counties, says that worry is a reach. "It's ironic — everyone is happy with something they get out of the bill," he says. "They're happy with what they're getting, but they don't want anyone else to get anything out of it."

As for Covaleski, he still supports the idea behind the legislation — in fact, his Guild's official position is in support of SB 674, which figures to help these craft brewers attract new drinkers who might be willing to buy a six-pack of an unfamiliar beer but not a full case. But they also hope that state Sens. Logan and Rafferty might close one potentially troubling loophole: the provision that allows sales of odd-size beer packages, such as 15- and 18-packs. These variations happen to be a specialty of brewing behemoths Anheuser-Busch and Miller Brewing Co. If these companies were to gain a foothold in Pennsylvania with those 18-packs — which hit different price points and have been popular in other states — the state's smaller breweries might see a new front open up in the local beer wars.

Budweiser has of late been buying up smaller craft breweries and, potentially, could begin offering those higher-end products in cheaper 18-packs.

"At the moment, we haven't got the equipment to do [packaging] that way," Covaleski says. "Certainly, we don't believe the state and federal government exists to coddle us. We stepped into this business with eyes open. So we'll have to modernize if the market demands it."

Whether or not an amendment addresses this concern, it does seem the bill has a strong chance at passing. It won approval from the Law and Justice Committee by a 10-to-1 vote last spring before being tabled for the summer. When it comes up again this month, Meyer expects a similar result. And with consumer support behind it, the bill has a great chance for approval before the full Senate, too. And that would be great news — at least according to Vince Gorman.

Gorman, owner of Flourtown Beverage on Bethlehem Pike, is one of the few beer distributors in the state who actually supports the bill. And he's got good reason: It stands to make him more money.

"I am staring across my store right now at a case of beer that sells for $115," Gorman says. "Now, how many of those do you think I sell in a week? But if somebody wanted to do something special, and a six-pack of that beer was $30? Well, they might do it."

(t_hyland@citypaper.net)