Brewpub Bill Could Be Major Boost For Main Street Business

Brewpub Bill Could Be Major  Boost For Main Street Business

By David Howell

Editor

WATER VALLEY – A bill in the state’s House of Representatives could be a big boost for the state’s craft breweries including Yalobusha Brewing Company in Water Valley – if it passes. 

House Bill 846 proposes for Mississippi’s craft breweries to be allowed to sell up to 10 percent of their product directly to the customer at the brewery for on-site or off-site consumption. Under current state law, a craft brewery can only offer on-site samples of their product for visitors touring the facility.  This means the Water Valley business missed out on the opportunity to sell their product directly to visitors who traveled from 42 states and 12 countries in 2015 to tour the brewery.

“They all left Yalobusha Brewing Company empty-handed and they all wanted to buy something to take with them,” Andy O’Bryan told the Herald.  “It is a really big missed opportunity for economic development and tourism, we want to hold these people in Water Valley for as long as we can,” the brewery co-owner explained.

  If the bill passes, O’Bryan predicts his company’s production and number of employees could double with the operation of a brewpub that would include a restaurant. That growth could also warrant a second location for the company, as space in the historic Hendricks Machine Shop building where the brewery operates on Main Street would be utilized for manufacturing, bottling and the brewpub.

“All we are asking for is the ability to sell 10 percent of our overall production direct,” O’Bryan reiterated, explaining the opportunity would be a big boost for the brewery, money that is critical for the continued growth of the three-year old business.

“We would reinvest almost every extra dollar we make back into the brewery to expand,” O’Bryan said. The investment would also include purchasing equipment to ultimately double the production capacity at the site.

“But all of that is on pause, waiting to see if this bill is going to happen,” O’Bryan said.

If it passes, House Bill 846 will not change the state’s current three-tier system that dates back eight decades and requires beer to flow from the brewery to a distributor and finally to the retailer. Instead, 90 percent of production from the state’s 13 breweries will continue to flow through distributors to bars, restaurants, grocery stores and gas stations.

The bill was referred to the Ways and Means Committee on Feb. 8 and must make it out of the committee on or before February 23 or it will die. District 33 Representative Tommy Reynolds of Water Valley serves on the Ways and Means Committee and supports the bill.

“What rational basis do you have in stopping the craft breweries from selling a small part of their production on-premises, especially in a restaurant inside the brewery,” Reynolds told the Herald Monday. “These are Mississippi industries,” Reynolds also added about his support.

O’Bryan acknowledges passage of the bill will be an uphill battle, as the state’s network of distributors have a strong lobbying effort to squelch the legislation. But if the bill fails, Mississippi will likely be the only state in the nation that does not allow some type of direct sell at a brewery as other states have carved out exceptions from the traditional three-tier system to help promote the thriving craft beer industry.

“Mississippi and Georgia are the only two states in the entire country that do not allow direct sales to consumers at the brewery… Georgia is at the negotiating table as we speak and so it is going to come down to us as the only state with no direct sales at breweries and I’m tired of Mississippi being last in everything. This is a zero cost bill that should be a no-brainer to pass. We certainly appreciate Mr Reynolds’ support and need our other elected officials to help us see this bill through,” O’Bryan added.