Creature Comforts could face prosecution over ridiculous brewery tour laws

According to an article from 11alive.com an Athens prosecutor is considering legal action against Creature Comforts Brewing Co. because an undercover officer went to the brewery and was served beer… but didn’t get a tour of the facility. That’s right, that’s illegal under Georgia’s ridiculous laws. What could happen to Creature Comforts for this grievous offense? They could be fined or have their license suspended.

Current alcohol laws state that a brewery may give up to 36 oz of “free samples” to patrons (they cannot sell you beer, only a tour… with “free” samples”) as well as up to 72 oz of “free souvenir” beer to go. However the verbiage of the law states that samples may be consumed before, during, or after the tour.

Efforts to change the current system have been met with opposition from the Governor’s office and other high-ranking legislators, even though bills that have made it to a vote have passed by an overwhelming majority. Brewers felt they would have more freedoms with the passage of SB63 last year, but the DoR issued a policy bulletin that reversed much of that. A bill proposed this year never made it to being submitted, apparently due to pressure from the Governor’s office and an apparent “compromise” he facilitated.

It’s beyond time for change for Georgia’s ridiculous and outdated beer laws.

UPDATE: I’ve done some further research and it should be noted that this is not a DoR issue, they have no involvement whatsoever. A local officer investigated the brewery and, in her understanding of the law, there was a violation. She issued a report based on that understanding. No citation has been issued at this time. I spoke with the Georgia Craft Brewers Guild and due to this being an open issue they are declining comment at this time.

UPDATE 2: Nancy Palmer, Executive Director of the Georgia Craft Brewers Guild, issued the following statement:

There has been no official citation or action by the ACCPD. I am confident that Creature Comforts’ tours on the day in question were in line with all state laws and regulations. Incidents like this underscore the need for clear and direct laws governing brewery beer sales.

UPDATE 03/26/16: Athens-Clarke County announced via Twitter that they will not seek an administrative hearing for Creature Comforts on this issue. They stated that, “due to the current state of the law and regulation, the probability of successfully establishing a violation of Athens-County ordinances was low.”