4572 became law on June 7, 2010. Breweries need to do several things to be ready but  am sure you’ll start seeing tour hours scheduled soon by our South Carolina Breweries. We’ll post them here when we know for sure. Remember there are rules and limitations but all in all, I think this will do wonders for the growth and education of craft beer in our state. And so ends my 5 year flirtation with politics

Cheers!

Monday at 3pm, it will be official. Retail tastings/tours/sales at breweries and tastings at retail stores. YeeHaw.

Passed! 3rd reading in Senate. On the the House for approval and then on to the Governor.

The combined retail and brewery tasting bill has passed the 2nd Senate reading today. On to the 3rd which hopefully happens quickly! Big News! Thank you to everyone who has taken the time to write letters and called to voice your support.

Call to Action for H. 4572 Act Now!

A combined brewery tasting bill AND beer retail tasting (seperate from our  bill 3693- brewery tastings) is being contested. Please contact Senator Phil Leventis and ask him to support this bill. It encourages growth across the board for the craft beer movement.

In this instance, emailing is preferred:  philleventis@scsenate.gov

Link to H. 4572

Our separate bill, H. 3693, did pass subcommittee meeting today and is scheduled for Full Senate on Tuesday, May 11. But 4572 is the ideal bill as it supports retail and brewery tastings.

April 20 Update-
We are officially in the Senate but have been assigned to the Judiciary Subcommittee, scheduled for may 4. We need to get ALL Judiciary Senate Members on board with this bill. Needless to say, this is a HUGE step and where we really need consumer input. Please take a few minutes to call and email these members. Now is the time we have been waiting for.

Link to the updated language for HB 3693:

Link to Judiciary Members Listing:

HB 3693 has passed its 2nd and 3rd House readings and now is on to the Senate!! Big News. We will let you know what help is needed for the Senate shortly. If you know a Senator or want to contact your local Senator, now would be a good time. If all goes well, we’ll be up in Senate judiciary as early as next week.

So we are trying to get a 2nd and 3rd reading done for our bill, HB #3693, this week! Please contact the following members, preferably via phone. You can email from the statehouse website at www.scstatehouse.gov

Speaker of the House-  Robert W. Harrell, Jr.
District 114 – Charleston & Dorchester Cos.

And it’s a …Yea! Positive vote for HB 3693! We have to wait 24 hours before it can be addressed by House and we are hoping to do that before Thursday adjournment (and subsequent 2 week furlough). Stay Tuned.

Saturday – April 10, 2010 @ 02:00PM / ends @ 06:00PM
Beer Festival @ BI-LO Center
Greenville, South Carolina

Event Details:
Inaugural beer festival in Greenville, SC at the BI-LO Center. Unlimited 2 ounce sampling of over 125 world class craft and import beers. VIP ticket gets you early entrance, a wider selection of special beers and food. Local food specialties, music and games. Education area for beer seminars on how to cook with beer, food and beer pairings and brewing 101.

One 4 hour sampling session: 2pm-6pm. Visit the official event website.