Philadelphia Beer Raids
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I want to preface this post with the fact that I am not a lawyer, nor have I studied the liquor laws of Pennsylvania (where I was born and raised and visit on occasion). The facts I list below are based from articles that I have read and my personal opinion on the matter. Without further adieu…The Philadelphia Beer Raids.
Over the past two weeks (beginning on March 4, 2010), armed State Police officers raided three popular Philadelphia bars (the Memphis Taproom, Local 44, and Resurrection Ale House) and one distributor (Origlio’s Beverage) based on an anonymous tip. The State Police confiscated thousands of dollars worth of untouched craft beer and are currently holding it (ransom?) at an undisclosed location (sounds like something from a movie).
The raided bars and lone distributor allegedly purchased beers that had not been properly licensed in the state of Pennsylvania; a process that requires the brewers or their importers to pay a $75 registration fee per brand.
Fines for selling unregistered beer can range from $50 to $1,000. An establishment’s liquor license may also be suspended or revoked, depending on the severity of the violation and any prior violations.
For instance, the cops confiscated Monk’s Cafe Sour Flemish Red Ale, a beer brewed in Belgium specifically for the Philadelphia bar donning the same name, “Monk’s Cafe”. The problem is that the beer appears on the state’s list as “Monk’s Café Ale.”
Even more puzzling, the State Police also confiscated bottles of Duvel, a very popular Belgian beer. The beer appears on the PLCB list as “Duvel Beer,” while its label reads “Duvel Belgian Golden Ale.” This one shocked me the most. Almost every beer-centric bar I have been to in the state of Pennsylvania serves Duvel. How could the State Police not figure this out? (Um…no comment.)
The Philly beer distributor Origlio’s Beverage, had about a dozen cases of beer confiscated and was ordered to stop selling beers from several well-known breweries, including Duvel, Russian River, Hacker-Pschorr, Paulaner, and Monk’s Cafe Ale.
Vinnie Cilurzo, owner of Russian River, does admit that some of the beers may not have been properly registered in the state of Pennsylvania.
“We are a small mom-and-pop brewery and every once in a while something slips through the cracks.”
At least one person in politics feels that the State Police and PLCB went too far.
Rep. John Taylor, whose legislative district includes one of the bars, the Memphis Taproom, said that the State Police engaged in “a ridiculous use of enforcement manpower” last week.
“I don’t know why they would use that many people to track down an issue like this that could have been handled with a routine inspection,”
“There are other important things those personnel could be doing,” Taylor said. “Over the years we’ve had problems [in bars] with gun sales, prostitution, drug sales, after-hour operations, sales to minors – serious issues of concern to the community. I don’t think this is one of them.”
The Pennsylvania liquor registration laws are intended, in part, to protect the consumer from purchasing “counterfeit” beer. After reading several articles from different sources, I feel that the PLCB’s records need to be updated at the very least, especially since registered beers like Duvel were confiscated. Click here for the official list of registered beer in Pennsylvania.
Since beginning this blog, I have met so many kind and giving people in the craft beer industry. One of the words often used when describing the industry is brotherhood. Did an envious “brother” and owner of a competing bar contact the PLCB to try to bring down a competitor’s business? If so, that’s going against everything the craft beer industry stands for.
So who is to blame? The bars? Distributors? Brewers? The asshole who ratted out these establishments?
Are the Pennsylvania State Police and PLCB a mob of beer haters on a power trip? Or are the PLCB’s laws are outdated and no longer relevant today?
I’d like to hear how people feel about this situation. Feel free to send me your opinions, additional facts, and what-not’s regarding the raids.
For some reason, I have a feeling this is not the last time the liquor laws of Pennsylvania come into question……………………
Themocracy