TOM KAN PA wrote...
> State beer sales going flat
>
> Per capita drinking lowest since 1947
>
> Monday, June 14, 2004
> By Bill Toland, Post-Gazette Harrisburg Bureau

What a joke. This reporter does all this research and comes to conclusions
that ignore the entire issue. And the issue, for those here who don't know
Pennsylvania liquor laws, is that state liquor laws were drawn up after
prohibition and haven't been overturned. You can't buy beer in a supermarket
or a convenience store. You can't even buy beer in a state/package/liquor
store. You can buy a case from a beer distributor, but not a bottle, six
pack, or twelve pack. You can buy a bottle or six pack from a bar or deli,
but not a case. Then if somebody proposes a plan to give Pennsylvania liquor
laws like every (actually almost every) other state, legislators from rural
areas make speeches about how any change in the law will turn the entire
population into alcoholics and the legislation gets shot down. Why didn't
any of this get mentioned in the article?

I'm not worried about the good beer market as I see more 15-30 tap bars
opening and it's become rare to go to a bar or restaurant that doesn't have
at least Sierra Nevada or Sam Adams. But if the businesses in the state are
worried about per capita beer consumption, then stop making it artificially
difficult to buy beer.

-Tom W