In a modern day version of the Boston Tea Party — but without the Indian costumes or a ship — Wisconsin beermakers staged a protest today by dumping out kegs of beer into the Milwaukee River. The Milwaukee Beer Party, which is what I’ll be calling it, was held to bring attention to Wisconsin SB 224, a state Senate bill that would make things more difficult for small local brewers.
From the AP article:
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The whole issue started when the Great Dane Pub opened a third location in the Madison area, but couldn’t sell its own brews because the law only allows two such operations per chain.
The brewers are also upset that the law was introduced on July 3 and is already scheduled for a vote Wednesday in the Senate’s Transportation, Tourism and Insurance Committee.
“This is just a run-of-the-night operation that’s being ram-roaded down our throats,” said Russ Klisch, owner of Lakefront Brewery Inc. in Milwaukee and president of the Wisconsin Brewers Guild. “There are so many questions out there that have been unanswered.”
It appears that lawmakers were unaware if the consequences of the actions and amendments are in the works, according to Terry Tuschen, a spokeperson for the bill’s sponsor, Senator Fred Risser (D-Madison). “Everybody’s working hard to fix what needs to be fixed,” Tuschen said. Still, if you live in Wisconsin, it probably can’t hurt to contact your local state senator’s office and ask them not to support the bill unless those provisions are amended or removed.
The Milwaukee Beer Party
From Channel 3 Wisconsin
“The whole issue started when the Great Dane Pub opened a third location in the Madison area, but couldn’t sell its own brews because the law only allows two such operations per chain.”
Stupid law, but how to you open a third location (certainly with a lawyer involved) and not know about this law?