• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Advertise
  • About Craft Brewing Business

Craft Brewing Business

Professional Insight, Unfiltered

Craft Brewing Business Craft Brewing Business
  • News
  • Business & Marketing
  • Packaging & Distribution
  • Equipment & Systems
  • Ingredients & Supplies
  • Webinars & White Papers
  • News
  • Business & Marketing
  • Ingredients & Supplies
  • Packaging & Distribution
  • Equipment
  • Webinars & White Papers
  • COVID-19

Indiana officially kills cold beer sales from grocery, convenience stores

May 10, 2017Chris Crowell

Indiana beer sale laws

For my other gig, I was researching a bill that Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb signed just before the end of the legislative session that essentially killed the residential rooftop solar industry in the state. While doing so, lo and behold, I saw that this Holcomb character was also curbing beer sales too. And yes, that’s all beer, even Beer Voltron.

House Bill 1496 says it’s illegal for grocery and convenience stores in Indiana to sell cold, carryout beer unless 60 percent of their profits come from on-site consumption. That’s a pretty lofty number.

The real target of the legislation at the start was a convenience store chain, Ricker’s, that started to expand by adding a food and beverage component, which included — I hope you are sitting down — alcohol sales. Gasp! Well, shame you devils, that is against the old timey ways of Indiana — even though the owner of Ricker’s was legally granted the permits and doing everything above board.

Anyway, lawmakers acted fast to close this apparent loophole well after the people of Ricker’s invested a ton of money in renovations, training and so on. And they chose to close this loophole with this scatter shot language in House Bill 1496:

Provides that after May 14, 2017, a restaurant may not sell carryout unless at least 60% of its gross retail income from alcoholic beverage sales is derived from sales of alcoholic beverages consumed on the premises. Makes the following exceptions to the gross retail income requirements for sale of carryout: (1) Exempts retailer’s permits issued to a city market, marina, state park, golf course, hotel, resort hotel, social or fraternal club, or restaurant operated by a microbrewer.

That cut off level of income drawn from alcohol sales on-premise rules out a lot of places that could sell beer if Indiana chose to follow the example of such cosmopolitan places as Ohio and sell beer in grocery stores and gas stations. Also, side note, the act grandfathers in companies that obtained a license by Nov. 1, 2016. Guess whose license was obtained just a few weeks after that established cut-off date? Poor Ricker’s. They really fucking hate that dude.

But this might just be a pit stop on the way to broader alcohol reform in the state, according to the Indianapolis Star:

House Speaker Brian Bosma, R-Indianapolis, and Senate leader David Long, R-Fort Wayne, both said the Alcohol and Tobacco Commission’s decision to issue a restaurant liquor license to two small burrito restaurants within Rickers went against the will of the General Assembly.

Holcomb disagreed with that sentiment and at a news conference in February said the agency followed the law. He also added that the alcohol commission would follow any new laws passed by the General Assembly.

“I sign this bill with the understanding we need to review and make common-sense changes to Indiana’s alcohol laws,” Holcomb said in a statement after signing the legislation Tuesday.

Cropped shot of male hand holding beer bottle & national flag of USA against setting sun. River background. Happy independence day
TTB proposes some welcome changes to Brewer’s Notices
TTB application process
TTB might eliminate standards of fill for wine, distilled spirts
craft beer regulations
TTB eases some alcohol labeling regulations
brewery revenue by day of the week
Let’s look back at the year in craft beer with the Brewers Association

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.

Primary Sidebar

Latest News

  • Breweries that host RV travelers via Harvest Hosts can earn some extra cash
  • Joyride Brewing’s anniversary block party is going to be pretty rad, includes friendly collab competition
  • The wheeled Perlick Mobile Tap is a cool new roving beer station
  • A behind the scenes look at branding a startup brewery

Sign up for our newsletter

unsubscribe from list

Most Popular Today

Recent Features

  • A behind the scenes look at branding a startup brewery
    June 28, 2022
  • robot beer salesThe future of retail beer sales is here
    June 27, 2022
  • Sapporo to acquire Stone Brewing, that one brewery that kept saying it wasn’t interested in selling out
    June 24, 2022
  • Reebok-x-Rec-2Harpoon collaborates with Reebok, Elysian reveals new tarot labels and more beers to know this week
    June 23, 2022
  • Carlsberg announces largest test trial of its fully recyclable Fiber Bottles (Mads Mikkelsen’s a fan)
    June 22, 2022
  • Strategic Partnership HandshakeHarpoon parent company buys Long Trail Brewing brands
    June 21, 2022

Footer

  • Email Newsletter Sign Up
  • About Craft Brewing Business
  • Contact Us
  • Advertise on Craft Brewing Business
  • Media Kit Download
  • Privacy and Terms

© 2022 · CBB Media LLC

Posting....