Endless litigation still a threat to Florida's beer tourism industry

And you thought it was about the growlers.

Earlier this month, the Florida Retail Federation and Florida Independent Spirits Association, organizations representing several Florida beer retailers, filed a lawsuit against the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation that would force it to re-examine the licensing of Florida brewery tasting rooms.

Insisting that all of this is merely about clarification — as the FRF puts it — and is in no way intended to exploit the growth of the craft beer industry in our state sounds familiar. It's apparently rather innocuous, like the explanation given by several large beer distributors last year, when legislation was introduced to reinforce the three-tier system that mandates that a brewery must sell its products to a distributor, rather than distribute directly to consumers.

That legislation was tacked onto a bill that would eliminate the ban on industry-standard 64-ounce growlers, a constant source of frustration for small breweries across the state. After all, Florida is one of only two states that don't allow 64-ounce growlers, leaving consumers stuck with either a half-sized, 32-ounce container, or a full-gallon jug.

No problem, insisted the Florida Beer Wholesalers Association, as long as the rules regarding the three-tier system were revisited, likely tightening the loophole in which brewery tasting rooms operate. The bill failed, leaving stricter definitions of the three-tier system for a later date, and 64-ounce growlers as collateral damage.

The growler — seemingly the centerpiece of this whole thing — is nothing more than a bargaining chip in the now-familiar battles between brewers and the other two sides of the three-tier system: distributors and retailers.

When the FBWA announced it would not oppose a 64-ounce growler this year, many viewed it as a welcome (if unexpected) victory. When the FRF and FISA withdrew its lawsuit this week, the response within the craft beer community was similar.

But it wasn't a victory for the little guys at all. The lawsuit against the Department of Business and Professional Regulation was withdrawn not out of altruism and love for the state's growing beer industry, but rather because the DBPR agreed to voluntarily re-examine tasting-room licensing.

Once again, Florida's small brewers are on the defensive. The lawsuit's withdrawal was a strategic move. The FRF and the FISA are betting that they'll get what they want — and rest assured, clarification is not the whole story.

Since 1963, breweries have been able to operate a tasting room under a tourism exemption that allows for on-site alcohol sales at a brewery that promotes tourism. The original exemption was made for Anheuser-Busch, which sold beer at Busch Gardens for decades without issue.

As craft beer becomes big business in Florida, there's suddenly a lot of concern over the specifics of the tourism exemption. Are small breweries in the state promoting tourism? The answer is clear to anyone who is not completely oblivious to what's going on with craft beer in Florida. (Spoiler: it's yes.)

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None of the organizations that have directly or indirectly challenged this tourism exemption — the FBWA then, and the FRF and FISA now — are even slightly oblivious. Clarification would be needed if either the tourism exemption or the role that breweries play in tourism were ambiguous, but neither are.

Over the past two weeks, the Florida Brewers Guild has raised more than $47,000 in donations to fight the FRF and FISA lawsuit, and now that the suit has been withdrawn, the Brewers Guild plans on using the money to fight similar battles in the future. I suspect the FBG's wait to tap into those reserves won't be long.

Even if the DBPR clarifies the tasting-room licensing rules in a way that continues to favor the growth of small breweries, the 2015 legislative session is not that far away.

Let's hope that regulators and lawmakers can see past the buzzwords and do what's right for an industry that is putting our state on the map for beer enthusiasts and, yes, beer tourists, too.

— jg@saintbeat.com