By Patrick Gaines
Craft Brewers Association
If you’re a beer drinker, you’ve probably noticed some new Oklahoma craft beers showing up at restaurants, bars and liquor stores.
In recent years, Oklahoma entrepreneurs have been brewing internationally renowned craft beers. They’ve built successful businesses despite the challenges of Oklahoma’s outdated, Prohibition-era laws. Those laws restrict their ability open taprooms to sell their own products at their breweries, prevent them from delivering their beer to restaurants, bars, and liquor store, and does not allow their regular-strength craft beer to be refrigerated in liquor stores or sold in local grocery stores and convenience stores at all.
That’s why my group, the Craft Brewers Association of Oklahoma, supports State Question 792. The measure would update Oklahoma’s beer laws to allow Oklahoma brewers greater opportunity to sell and distribute their beers and give craft beer consumers more cold and convenient places to purchase great beer like in most other states. The change will open up new markets for Oklahoma brewers and continue to drive an economic boost for the state.
A study found if the Oklahoma craft-brewing industry grows just 10 percent a year, it would mean an additional $9 to $11 million a year in economic activity. This means more Oklahomans having jobs in a growth industry driving local manufacturing, distribution, and business careers.
The current law that mandates only low-point “3.2” beer be sold in grocery and convenience stores is a relic. Most locally made beers cannot be purchased at grocery and convenience stores. Oklahoma craft brewers are small businesses and many don’t have the resources to create separate low-alcohol products. Oklahoma craft brewers also proudly brew award-winning styles of beer that cannot be brewed to have an artificially low alcohol content.
Even liquor stores can’t refrigerate regular-strength beer under existing law. Beer is a perishable product and refrigeration would keep regular-strength local beer fresher for consumers. Passing SQ 792 would fix the issue.
SQ 792 also provides benefits and new opportunities for retailers. Local grocers hate telling customers their favorite Oklahoma beer cannot be found in any of their stores. Those customers demand locally sourced products like Oklahoma craft beer that supports the local economy, which is why so many local grocers also support SQ 792.
Liquor stores would also benefit directly from SQ 792. They will be able to add refrigerated sections to sell fresher beer and expand their product lines to draw in new customers. They will also gain the legal right to sell non-alcoholic items such as mixers, corkscrews, ice, limes and other convenient items currently prohibited now. Plus, liquor stores will still be the only places, other than restaurants and bars, where consumers can buy spirits, wine above 15% alcohol by volume (ABV), and beer above 9% ABV, which includes a number of amazing and popular Oklahoma craft beers.
Voting Yes on 792 will help ensure award-winning brewers keep their talents and their businesses in Oklahoma. If voters don’t take this opportunity to move the state forward, we may not get another chance for many years.
The Craft Brewers Association of Oklahoma urges you to vote Yes on 792.
Patrick Gaines represents the Craft Brewers Association of Oklahoma, a group of 13 commercial craft brewers.
