Mayor’s craft beer amendment postpones vote on alcohol event-permitting measure

At its next meeting, Springfield City Council is expected to vote on an amended version of an alcohol event-permitting bill that got an initial public hearing earlier this month.

The proposed alcohol event bill would remove Springfield’s 12-event-per-year cap on alcohol-serving festivals or other events permitted in downtown Springfield and on historic Commerical Street.

With an amendment offered by Mayor Jeff Schrag on July 28, beers of up to 8% alcohol by volume could be served at events like the annual Birthplace of Route 66 Festival, along with wines up to 14% ABV. Last night, council voted 6-1 in favor of Schrag's amendment to relax limits on alcoholic beverage potency that were outlined in an earlier version of the bill members debated on July 14. 

Schrag’s amendment would change the alcohol event bill in two ways: by raising the alcohol limit for beer to 8% from 5%, and by changing the “alcohol metric” of both beer and wine to ABV from alcohol by weight.

Schrag, who founded Springfield-based Mother’s Brewing Co. LLC in 2011 and remains a minority shareholder of the business, argued that “almost no craft brewer in the city limits of Springfield brews beers at 5%. The craft standard is 6[%] and 7[%], typically. And I wanted to make sure that local craft breweries are included in this.”

Schrag also said measuring alcohol by volume, as opposed to weight, “is the industry standard.”

He noted that alcohol by weight yields a lower percentage figure to describe a beverage than alcohol by volume.

“Your classic Budweiser, Yuengling, those mass-produced beers are typically the ones at 5%,” Schrag said. “Generally, alcohol by weight, you subtract a little bit to get to alcohol by volume. Bud Light is about (4.2%), and so it’s about (3.2%) when you switch it over.”

The council vote outcome was more complex than is typical for Springfield’s elected leadership. Zone 1 Councilmember Monica Horton abstained from voting, Zone 3 Councilmember Brandon Jenson was absent from the July 28 meeting, and General Councilmember Craig Hosmer voted against the amendment after expressing concerns about the possible impact of 8% beers on patrons.

Council will hold a public hearing on Schrag’s amendment at its Aug. 11 meeting. A vote on the council bill is expected following that public hearing.

Following the vote to accept the amendment on July 28, Hosmer asked for a Springfield Police Department representative to be present at the upcoming public hearing: “I would like to have someone with SPD that understands the level of intoxication and what that means as far as changing that and how that’s going to impact patrons.”