Update: Council approves ordinance allowing brew pubs to sell growlers

Columbus Council voted unanimously Tuesday night to allow local brew pubs to sell “growlers,” 32- and 64-ounce containers of their beer.

The only amendment made to the ordinance was to allow the brewers also to sell 16-oounce growlers, an amendment proposed by Councilor Skip Henderson

Otherwise, the ordinance passed unanimously without discussion.

Original story:

Columbus Council will vote Tuesday evening on whether to allow brew pubs to sell their beer in “growlers,” 32- and 64-ounce containers.

The Cannon Brew Pub, so far the city’s only such establishment, already sells growlers, but because of the way the current ordinance is written, it cannot sell them in the brew pub. The business had to lease an adjacent building for growler sales.

Maltitude, the only other filler of growlers in Columbus so far, operates on the same side of the same Broadway block, a few doors down from the Cannon. But Maltitude does not brew its own beer or serve any beer for consumption on the premises, as does the Cannon.

Councilor Skip Henderson, who is bringing the ordinance to Council, said it is in response to new state Revenue Commissioner Lynne Riley’s interpretation of state law, which is that it allows brew pubs to sell their own wares in growler form.

“The ordinance is to bring it into alignment with the interpretation of the new state revenue commissioner,” Henderson said. “It just makes sense to me because it’s a growing cottage industry and a lot of millennials are interested in this. It allows them to do what a lot of craft beer stores do, fill up the growlers, seal them and let them take them home.”

Under the current local ordinance and the previous interpretation of state law, a brew pub would have to put its beer in kegs, have a licensed distributor pick it up, then bring it back to the pub (and charge for the transaction) before the pub could sell for off-premise consumption.

“The biggest difference will be the ability to sell all of our beers without first selling them to our wholesaler and then them selling them back to us,” said Melvin Baker, general manager of the Cannon. “In the end, it’s all about selling our product and making it as easy as possible for our customers.”

If the ordinance passes, and the Cannon is licensed for off-premises as well as on-premises, it can sell growlers for people to take home, or customers can consume them on the premises, City Attorney Clifton Fay said.

The new ordinance also states that any business with an off-premises beer sales license, such as grocery and convenience stores, could sell growlers. But liquor stores, which also have off-premises liquor licenses, cannot, Fay said.

Both the Cannon and Maltitude would be allowed to offer one-ounce samples of different beers so customers could try them out. But under the ordinance, customers could get only three samples in a given day.

Chattahoochee Brewing Co. in Phenix City is the Bi-Cities’ only other brew pub, and isn’t subject to Columbus’ ordinance, of course. But because of a change in Alabama alcoholic beverage laws this year, it can now sell growlers, whereas it could not before.

This story was originally published July 25, 2016 at 3:34 PM with the headline "Update: Council approves ordinance allowing brew pubs to sell growlers."