Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2019
Craft brewers and distillers have seen explosive growth in North Carolina, and new state laws could accelerate that. A conversation at Divine Barrel Brewing in NoDa with leaders in the state's beer-brewing and alcohol-distilling industries.
The new laws are wide-ranging, from allowing distillers to sell mixed drinks on-site to customers, to letting dogs - even cats! - back into breweries.
For beer brewers, such as Charlotte's The Olde Mecklenburg Brewery and NoDa Brewing Company, the legislation also ended a feud with the state's wholesalers over breweries' control of distribution.
Today, Gov. Cooper signed the Craft Beer Distribution and Modernization Act, which lifts the distribution cap for craft breweries, allowing these businesses to grow and thrive. pic.twitter.com/PXYC2HZcQ0
— Governor Roy Cooper (@NC_Governor) May 30, 2019
Distillers had reason to cheer the laws, which, among other things, removed a cap on the number of bottles they could sell to a customer. Previously, distillers could only sell five bottles per year to a customer.
With these new measures in place, what's ahead for these industries?
GUESTS
Pete Barger, co-owner, Southern Distilling Company; president of the Distillers Association of North Carolina
Todd Ford, co-owner, NoDa Brewing Company
Ryan Self, director of sales, The Olde Mecklenburg Brewery