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Senate amends and advances alcohol-tasting bill setting sample-size limits and tasting-site rules
Summary
House Bill 228 revises tasting rules for breweries, distilleries and wineries, sets specific sample-size limits and removes the distillery 'education' license category; after an amendment the Senate advanced a second substitute with recorded votes.
Senator Jay Stevenson presented HB 228 to update state alcohol regulations to clarify how tastings may be conducted at breweries, distilleries and wineries. The bill sets specific sample-size limits—Sen. Stevenson read examples including a wine sample not to exceed 5 ounces, spirit samples of 1.25–2.5 ounces and beer samples up to 16 ounces—and allows tastings in adjacent buildings or an attached outdoor amenity on the same property.
The second substitute removes the "education" license category previously used by some distilleries and establishes standards for postings, food requirements determined by DABC, and limits on the number of tastings per customer. The sponsor said the changes create consistency across the state and give DABC clearer enforcement standards. Senator Vickers asked whether the amendment addressed concerns raised about a specific facility; the sponsor said he believed the amendment handled those issues but offered to meet offline.
The chamber adopted the amendment and recorded 19 yay votes and 2 nay votes on the second substitute. The bill now moves forward with the clarified tasting rules and specified sample sizes.
