Don't get too excited from the headline.
Bars and restaurants in California aren't going to be giving away all their beer, but this year, for the first time, they will be permitted to give out free samples of beer, much in the same way that free samples of wine and spirits are sometimes given out to promote new brands or new products from those industries.
Previously, beer companies could only offer tastings at their own plants or breweries, but the new law allows for up to 8-ounces per person per day, to be given away promotionally, provided that it is served in a glass at an establishment that already serves beer or spirits. The tastings can last no more than one hour and can only feature one type of beer, which effectively prevents consumers from having more than those 8-oz (without paying for more, anyway). St. Louis-based Anheuser-Busch was the driving force behind the new law, pushing the issue on the grounds that existing law excluded a major portion of the beverage industry. They plan to offer tastings of some of their seasonal products in the future.The primary objectors to the legislation were the religious groups behind the California Council on Alcohol Problems, which basically tried to say that all beer tasted the same (unlike wine, in their opinions) and that this would cause drinking problems. Clearly, legislators did not agree with their thinking and neither would any of the many beer lovers out there, all of whom can attest to the fact that beer does vary from brand to brand and even batch to batch.
1-05-2007 @2:42PM JMForester said... I never had any problems in CA when I asked for a taste of a new brew before ordering it to see if I liked it. I guess many places didn't know about or follow that law.
As for free beer... in my area is a college (Iona in New Rochelle, NY) that has a whole bunch of bars just down the road. I don't know if they still do it, but on Fridays starting at noon they would alternate having free kegs of beer. One bar would open one at noon, the next at 1pm, then 2pm, etc. and the crowd would work its way from bar to bar drinking free until around 6pm. It was a blast and I have many fond memories of wandering from bar to bar with my friends and then ordering bacon and onion pizzas to sober up.
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