Many Pennsylvania news outlets and beer blogs are buzzing this morning. According to Philly.com, the PA Liquor Control Board’s began busting beer bars late last week for carrying beer that has not been authorized for sale in the state. Amongst a long list of old peculiar laws, all brewers that have their beer distributed must register their beer names with the state at $75.00 a pop.  So even if a beer bar bought a container of beer for resale through proper channels, if it wasn’t on this list, it was confiscated. Lame!

When reading Jack Curtin’s blog on the matter, I found out these sinister bar owners were met with guns. I don’t know how you all roll in PA, but our bar owners in CA are not the least bit life threatening.  So while I don’t agree with beer laws in PA, if they are insistent on going banzai on a beer bar, do it for these reasons below:

- Unfriendly, grumpy wait staff that often times disrespect folks that are new to craft beer.
- Dirty tap lines.
- Marking up a scarce beer by 400%
- Putting on year old IPAs and IIPAs, rendering them disgusting.
- Putting the word The in front of beer names, like “The Arrogant Bastard” and “The Blue Moon.”

I can only imagine that the ugly counter part to the otherwise friendly, brotherly beer industry is what lead to this.  The PLCB has been operating with crap laws forever. Someone had an axe to grind, and merely used the ‘man’ to carryout his or her bidding.   Hopefully instead of disrupting a few beer bars, and scaring a ton more, this will raise awareness that PA Liquor laws blow, and will get their citizens to take action on the matter.

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