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What's the rationale...?
General Beer Discussion by DOULOS31
...for not being able to buy beer/wine in grocery stores in certain states? I live in Delaware...so in my state and all the surrounding states, this is the case. I never really gave any thought to it until reading about people buying beer in their local grocery store. Then, I began to question, why? From a beer lover's point of view, which is better? Are there still beer/liquor stores in areas where you can buy beer in any convenience store? I'm guessing that there are...I guess you could certain beers cheaper from a bigger store, but probably not the selection. Also, I never buy beer in PA, even though I'm close (no sales tax in DE and state line liquors in MD nearby...no need to venture into PA)...I've read on here that you have to buy beer by the case there? Does that mean you HAVE to buy a prepackaged case (24), or can you mix/match to make your own case? What the heck is the rationale behind this???
19 years ago
Yeah I have to agree that it's taxes, control, and the stubborn nature of things. I live in PA, and it's a little more complicated than just cases. Obviously, you can go into a bar and not have to buy a full case [xx(]. A store that sells prepared food, such as a deli or pizza shop is also able to sell single servings of beer, just like a bar. They can also sell take-out beer in six packs. Now, this may seem great, but it's not that easy. No pizza dive is going to carry a decent selection, so you're lucky to have a choice from 10 macros. But there are a few (and I mean FEW) places that have played with the laws to operate as a deli (allowing them to sell take-out) by selling a few sandwiches, but specializing in beer. I know of only two in the Philly area! They let you buy singles and mixed six packs. 98% of the beer we're forced to buy has to come from a "beer distributor". These places are warehouses that sell beer, kegs, and usually soda. You MUST buy a full 24 bottle case and you cannot mix them. Most of these places make their money in volumes of swill, but they almost always have something OK. After all, they exist to sell beer, so they can usually spare a few square feet of space for something interesting. Anyway, it still sucks having to pay $30-100 to try one beer! The states rationale for this was probably to have better control of how the beer is sold. Instead of having 1,000 slack jaws selling beer at gas stations and 7-11s, there are only a couple hundred retailers to keep an eye on. At least the state has a decent selection of beer (when you can find them). My local distributor has almost 1000 different beers. Distilled spirits and wine are sold only in liquor stores and are run by the state.
EAGLEFAN538
69535
In all my quick stops into convenient stores in states that allow alcohol sales there... only one or two have ever offerred a good selection (normally macros). I'm fine going to a liquor store for liquor and a convenient/grocery store for groceries.