On Wednesday, August 16th, the Reform on Tap Task Force will hold a town hall meeting at Evolution Brewing Co. at 5:00 PM. Below are my thoughts for the Task Force. 

I am a craft beer enthusiast, a craft beer blogger (Warren’s Beer Adventures) and a homebrewer. I live in the planned community of Columbia in Howard County. There are 3 Columbia breweries: Hysteria, Push and Black Flag. Manor Hill is just outside Columbia in Ellicott City and the closest brewery to my house.

Just about every week, I get together with my friends for a beer, usually at Frisco Tap House, home of the Push American Beer Company. Also, I have challenged myself to the seemingly impossible task of visiting 57 Maryland breweries this year, all which are BAM members. I have visited 22 breweries so far.

As a consumer of craft beer, I would like to think my voice and the voice of all Maryland craft beer fans would be heard with interest by all 3 tiers of the beer industry. For me, I want to drink well-made craft beer at bars, breweries, restaurants, my home, the homes of my friends and even a public place. I don’t really care about who distributes my beer or how they distribute it as long as it is delivered quickly, as beer has a limited shelf life. I just want variety. I want quality. And I prefer local, Maryland made beer. Even better, I’d like it made in Howard County.

I have witnessed the struggles our local breweries have had getting established. I feel the state and local laws are a major hindrance to new and expanding breweries. For example, Push has installed a very large new brewery and has been waiting many months for Maryland approval. I’ve also seen 2 breweries fail to launch in Howard County: Black-Eyed Susan and Bulk Head. Again, in Frederick County, I saw Barnwerks fail to ever get off the ground at two different locations, despite making great beer. I have also personally seen the new brewery, Hysteria, struggle to open. They are currently closed right now to replenish supplies after an extremely successful opening.  In HB1283, new breweries will have more restricted hours than their established competition. This is unfair. I would suggest that Maryland even go further than just level the playing field by offering business incentives to come here.

Also, I’m an adult and really don’t want the state to determine how much beer I can drink or buy. If I drink too much, let my friends or the establishment I’m visiting deal with that. I also want to be able to mail and transport beer across state lines. I believe it is illegal for me to buy a 6-pack of Tröegs Nimble Giant from Pennsylvania and bring it home. Why is that?

I think breweries are assets to their communities. Visiting a brewery is a great way to sample many of their beers in a flight (or taster) to find your favorites. Also, I see lots of community outreach from the breweries, like beer and yoga, game nights, trivia nights, music and even fundraisers for the Ellicott City recovery. Recently, Black Flag organized a very successful fundraiser for the medical needs of their regular patron, Brian Gaylor, who was injured in a car accident.

The “buy back” clause is my pet peeve. It is good that HB1283 has increased the taproom beer limit to 2000 barrels. It is ludicrous that a brewery can serve an additional 1000 barrels, but only if it is sold to the distributor, touched down at the warehouse and returned to the brewery. In this time of global warming, it is shameful for a governing body to legislate this wasteful, ludicrous practice. If taproom limitations are the goal, just pay a fee to the distributor for the additional barrels. Of course, I think taprooms should not have any limitations on the amount of beer they sell. Why should any consumer want that restriction?

Although many of the HB1283 contract restrictions were dropped, I believe some of them remain. As I said before, I’m just a guy looking for the next great craft beer. Contract brewing actually increases the odds for me to discover another great craft beer. It allows startups to start breweries with less capital and it provides flexibility for breweries to quickly expand production.

Let me tell you a story of an early contract brewery. In 1984, a sixth generation brewer started a contract brewery. He and a partner began their business with no office, no brewery, just a brief case and a great beer recipe. In 1985, just 6 weeks after producing their first commercial beer, Jim Koch’s beer, Samuel Adams Boston Lager was voted the best beer in American at the Great American Beer Festival. The craft beer revolution had begun. As the Encylopedia of World Biography states, “By 1994, Koch’s company was bringing in $50 million in sales, and Samuel Adams was the best–selling specialty beer in the United States.”  I want Maryland to welcome the next Jim Koch to this great state and I want to drink his or her beer.

Thanks for listening.

Cheers!

Warren