When it comes to Senate Bill 1714, the reality of this bill’s passage and its long-term effects on Florida’s craft breweries remains:
This bill’s massive and immediate impact on many Florida craft breweries is undeniable.
*This bill was not written by someone in the beer industry. The bill has a 2,000 keg limit requiring breweries to sell their bottled beer to a distributor after they make that much beer. Keep in mind that a keg could be as small as five gallons, so 2,000 kegs could be as little as 323 barrels annually. So if I was Florida Beer Company, Swamp Head Brewery, or Cigar City Brewing, then I would have to sell beer to my distributor only to have them pick it up and return it to me so I can sell it in my own tasting room.
(For kicks, watch Senator Stargel’s face when this is pointed out by CCB’s Justin Clark about 83 minutes into the video from debate on SB 1714.)
*There are other national breweries who are in states with favorable laws. Florida breweries have to compete against said national breweries in the same marketplace. As Cigar City’s Joey Redner said brought up, this is not going to effect Florida’s larger craft breweries, it is the new small brewers that are looking to grow their businesses that will be hurt most by this bill. If Pair O Dice Brewing sends beer to the market, then they have to compete against Stone Brewing, Flying Dog Brewing, Dogfish Head Brewing, etc. The only place that this would not be the case is in their own tasting room, thus it is one of the most helpful places to grow small business.
*Not every distributor is the bad guy. Lines have been drawn in the sand. The Florida Beer Wholesalers Association are the proponents of this bill. Their members are predominantly Anheuser-Busch InBev distributors. The MillerCoors distributors, generally members of a group called The Beer Industry of Florida, have come out against SB 1714 and in support of craft breweries.
*Tens of millions of dollars are at stake for craft brewers and for Florida. Cigar City is looking to invest millions in a new facility. Swamp Head is building a two million dollar brewery. Tampa Bay Brewing is looking to construct a five million dollar production facility. Stone Brewing of San Diego was accepting bids for an east coast brewery, hoping to invest 60 million dollars in a community with the best bid. Many Florida communities made a bid, but these Florida cities are competing against cities with beer-friendly laws, which would help Stone where Florida would not. That is about 70 million dollars that would be lost with only four breweries affected; Florida has over 100 breweries and brewpubs.
*JOBS WILL BE LOST if this bill passes. As Cigar City owner Joey Redner put it, Cigar City made about 581,000 dollars from retail sales in their tasting room. Under SB 1714, 175,000 dollars of that money would go to distributors in order for CCB to sell their own beer to customers. How many jobs and/or equipment does 175,000 dollars represent? Cigar City started with two employees five years ago and now the brewery employs 66 people full time. How many small breweries are expecting to follow the same model only to have to alter it based on this bill?
*What can an average citizen do? At this point, making noise to your local senator is the best strategy. Call, email, fax, beep, and telepathically inform them of your opinion. If a room full of people speaking in opposition to this bill does not change minds, then maybe a full inbox, voicemail, and mailbox will. This bill has to have a hearing in the full Senate, so some new senators will have a vote.
*BE READY TO VOTE. The importance of this one cannot be understated–every senator has to run for reelection eventually. While many senators make lofty campaign promises, many are not delivering. Make a note on your voter card and be prepared to vote against these men and women who are not living up to their promise to make Florida favorable for small business.
What’s next for this bill, according to our friends at Brewers Law:
The most recent form of Senate Bill 1714 (including the 2k keg threshold for prepackaged sales) will be read on the floor of the Senate on Monday, April 28, 2014, and it will be open for full debate at that time. Whether there is any debate is questionable, because most of the senators sit on one or more of the 3 committees that have already approved the bill (in prior versions). Still, Rules Chair Thrasher strongly hinted that the bill was not ready for prime time, and it’s likely that Senator Latvala will once again weigh in against the bill. It’s also possible that one or more new amendments could be proposed and considered.
There will not be a full-Senate vote on April 28. The bill must be read a 3rd time in its final form before a vote is taken. But, it does look like a vote might happen in the Senate before the session ends on May 2.
It boils down to the simple notion that members of our local community are having their interests, their businesses, and their livelihoods threatened by people in Tallahassee who are not listening to reason. Now is the time to help these businesses, just as they would if another business was being challenged this way.