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Mother’s opposes Senate bill

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Mother’s Brewing Co. and its owner took to social media yesterday to oppose a Missouri Senate bill that could have harmful implications for independent brewers.

A Facebook post signed by owner Jeff Schrag, who’s also president of the Missouri Small Brewers Guild, calls on residents to contact their state senators to oppose Senate Bill 919.

Mother’s specifically takes issue with a clause in the bill that would allow brewers to lease portable refrigeration units to retail store owners, which according to the Facebook post, is “an expense that small brewers simply cannot afford or compete against.”

“This bill contains some very troubling language being proposed by Anheuser-Busch InBev regarding the provision of branded refrigerated coolers to retail accounts, an expense that small brewers simply cannot afford or compete against,” Schrag wrote in the post.

If approved, the cooler clause in SB 919 would take effect Jan. 1, 2017.

According to the Mother’s post, the bill would allow larger breweries to rent prime cooler space, thereby pushing small brewers’ products to less desirable placements.

Sponsored by Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Glendale, SB 919 also calls on:
    •    removing the 5 percent alcohol limit on licensed malt liquor;
    •    expanding the kinds of alcoholic drinks a microbrewery can sell;
    •    clarifying sales rules regarding growlers;
    •    increasing the amount of liquor customers can self-dispense at an establishment;
    •    adding nondriver’s licenses as a valid form of ID to purchase alcohol;
    •    lessening rules related to sales tax statements; and
    •    allowing out-of-state liquor manufacturers to receive a special permit to participate in festivals and other events.

According to a separate Mother’s Facebook post, the bill was debated yesterday but postponed until an undisclosed date. The bill’s information also does not list a new date.

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