A 64-ounce growler of beer, currently illegal in Florida. (AP archive)
In case you missed it, on Thursday a Florida Senate committee unanimously approved a bill to legalize 64-ounce beer growlers. A growler is a reusable bottle that is filled at the tap. It allows people to take draft beer home to drink.
There is still a ways to go: The bill must make it to the full Senate, who must then approve it. The same thing must happen to the companion bill in the House. Then Gov. Rick Scott must sign it into law.
The unanimous approval is promising, and hopefully signals that the bill will become law.
It's been reported that beer distributors oppose the bill. But distributor J.J. Taylor (distributor of MillerCoors beers, Cigar City and many others) has tweeted that they support 64-ounce growlers:
Officially going on record saying that @jjtaylorfl SUPPORTS #FL's 64oz Growler Bill! Cheers to more great #craftbeer twitter.com/JJTaylorFL/sta…
— J.J. Taylor of FL (@JJTaylorFL) March 21, 2013
And the Beer Industry of Florida trade group has written a letter to Sen. John Thrasher in support of the measure, and they report that MillerCoors distributors are supporting the bill while Anheuser-Busch distributors are opposing it:
MillerCoors Distributors supports The Growlers Bill and Anheuser Busch opposes twitter.com/FLbeer/status/…
— Beer Industry of FL (@FLbeer) March 21, 2013
I'm trying to get a comment from an Anheuser-Busch distributor, but they are currently at a big Anheuser-Busch conference in Las Vegas.
