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Maryland politicians crush progressive beer legislation
The beer biz never sleeps at American Craft Beer. And here’s some more of what’s been happening in the beer world, while you were celebrating an ‘All St Patiick’s Day’ weekend.
Crushable (Annapolis, MD) – Hopes for sweeping changes to the state’s regressive beer laws were crushed last Friday when a legislative committee did the distribution and restaurant lobbyist’s bidding and rejected Comptroller Peter Franchot’s “Reform on Tap” initiative, a bill that had received the endorsement of craft beer majors like Flying Dog Brewing.
Unhappy with Franchot’s bold initiative, a Maryland House committee voted 17-4 against a bill the Democratic comptroller had been pushing for months to fix terribly flawed beer regulations approved last year by the General Assembly, according to the Baltimore Sun.
Franchot said Virginia would be “the big winner” because of the committee’s decision, and further predicted that Maryland brewers will be lured across state lines to a more progressive business environment that would allow them to prosper and grow (and he’s 100% right about that).
Words To Drink By (Annapolis, MD) ) – ““The corporate beer lobbyists did their job and got their money’s worth…Our independent craft brewers have once again received the message that our state’s leaders are fundamentally hostile to their line of work.” Maryland Comptroller Peter Franchot
Rich Carley Dead At 37 (Charleston, SC) – A beer visionary who is largely credited as one of the individuals responsible for fostering Charleston’s now vibrant craft beer scene has passed. Rich Carley who co-founded the Charleston Beer Exchange and Edmund’s Oast along with Scott Shor, reportedly died in his sleep of a heart attack last Tuesday
Edmund’s Oast, an acclaimed craft beer restaurant that was nominated as Bon Appetit’s 50 Best New Restaurants in America in 2014, has since expanded to open Edmund’s Oast Brewing Co., a larger free-standing brewery and restaurant. In 2017 the Charleston Beer Exchange re-branded as Edmund’s Oast Exchange and opened next to the original restaurant.
