Gainesville breweries were more crowded than usual Wednesday, as craft beer lovers celebrated the lift of Florida’s ban on 64-ounce growlers, the most popular size of to-go containers for craft beer.
“For people in the craft beer community, this is a big breakthrough,” said Gary Fairchild, who came to Swamp Head Brewery to participate in the celebration by filling a 64-ounce growler with a limited-edition beer.
Before Wednesday, consumers could only purchase 32-ounce or 128-ounce growlers, but no sizes in between.
The ban on 64 ounces was an unintended consequence of 1960s legislation meant to punish Miller Brewing for not planting a brewery in Florida, according to a UF Sponsored Project Report for the Florida Brewers Guild.
For local breweries, this change isn’t about the economic impact, but more about modernizing the craft beer industry in Florida, which has been known for its strict regulations on alcohol.
“It’s not going to have an overall impact on sales,” said Brandon Nappy, tactical marketing manager at Swamp Head Brewery. “It’s just going to bring us up to speed with the rest of the nation.”
Craft brewers started lobbying to try to change the law about five years ago, said Craig Birkmaier, original brewer at Swamp Head Brewery and former president of the board of directors of the Florida Brewers Guild.
“It’s a lot more than just the growlers,” he said. “It boiled down to a kind of war, if you will, between the distributors and craft brewers.”
In 2014, the craft beer industry reached an 11 percent volume share of the marketplace, and it is expected to attain 20 percent of the market share by the end of the decade, according to the Brewers Association.
The growing industry was perceived to be somewhat of a threat by distributors, Birkmaier said, and that created challenges in the process of getting this legislation passed.
The craft beer industry can survive without the 64-ounce growlers, said Robert Ostrow, an investor in First Magnitude Brewing Company.
“But it’s a statement,” he said. “We’re just like every other state.”
Beer tourism is beginning to grow in Florida, and now those coming into the brewery with their own 64-ounce growlers from out of state can get them filled, Nappy said.
“That’s what people want,” said Christine Denny, co-founder of First Magnitude Brewing Company, “and we’re here to make the stuff that people want.”
District Senator Rob Bradley, center, celebrates the legalization of 64-ounce growlers at First Magnitude Brewing Co. on Wednesday.
