Craft brewers have won a couple of battles in state legislators recently that have brought more availability of their product to consumers. In Mississippi, for instance, Raise Your Pints, a craft beer advocacy group, was able to get the ABW limit of beer raised from 5% to 8%.

More recently in Arizona a law was passed that finally allows bars, restaurants, and stores to fill growlers. If you unfamiliar with the concept, a growler is a large glass jug that can be filled with beer! 

It’s good for Arizona, but it baffles me that selling growlers full of beer was ever illegal in the first place. Was it the sheer volume of beer that frightened lawmakers? Couldn’t be that, since you can buy beer by the case. Was it the fact that it was a large volume in one container instead of 24 smaller containers? Where is the sense in that?

Then again, lawmakers aren’t usually known for their good sense. 

Edit: To clarify, breweries could always sell growlers, but retailers (bars, restaurants, stores, etc.) couldn’t. Now it’s a free for all! Well, not free beer… you get the picture.