MEMPHIS, Tenn. (WREG) — A bill working its way through the Tennessee legislature could put a chill on cold beer sales in the state.
According to its summary on the state website, SB 2636 “prohibits a beer permittee from selling at retail refrigerated or cold beer.” It passed two votes in the Senate and was referred to a committee.
The bill was introduced on Jan. 31 by Sen. Paul Rose and Rep. Ron Gant, who represent parts of West Tennessee near the Memphis area.
The Tennessee Department of Transportation says one out of three fatal crashes involves a DUI. Gant said this would serve as a deterrent for people who are considering cracking open a beer behind the wheel.
He also said it might not fix the problem completely but it makes the alcohol less readily available.
“We see the evidence in many accidents where alcohol is found in the car, beer cans, and beer bottles. And we see it on the side of the road in many of our roads across the state and every county, you see the many beer bottles, beer cans that litter our highways,” he said.
Andy Ashby, co-owner of Memphis Made Brewing, said he’d heard about the bill and was concerned about the effect it might have on his company’s sales.
“That would be very detrimental to our brewery and the beer business in general,” he said.
Ashby said getting rid of cold beer sales would directly impact his craft brewery. Convenience and grocery store sales are a key part of his business, he said, and consumers prefer beer when it’s refrigerated.
“There’s a saying in beer sales: Cold is gold,” he said.
The taproom is only a small part of business at Memphis Made. A large part comes from selling their products for people to take home, and they worry this bill could be detrimental.
“There’s only a handful of accounts that put our beer on a warm shelf,” said Drew Barton, head brewer at Memphis Made. “It would have a huge impact, huge. Package sales are somewhere around 40 to 50 percent of our sales, and 90 percent of that is cold.”
While Memphis Made does not condone drunken driving, Barton’s not sure the availability of cold beer is the issue.
“I think our next plan would be to get with the Tennessee Brewers Guild and form a plan with them,” he said. “They’ve been very proactive in helping craft brewers across the state, working with them. Working with bigger breweries. And figure out a way to work around this or however you want to look at it.”