Crazy Pennsylvania Beer Law Bars Convenience Stores From Selling Beer Six-Packs
Poor Pennsylvanian beer-lovers — not only is there a bizarre, ancient law on the books that prevents convenience stores from selling six-packs, but the state supreme court has gone and upheld it.
The law says places that sell six-packs must let customers drink it at the place of purchase. Most stores understandably aren't cool with customers swilling Pabst Blue Ribbon in front of the Slim Jim rack, so a Sheetz store took it to court, only to be slapped down by the wrong arm of the law.
Consider the purpose of buying a six-pack. It is to take the beer away from the store for consumption somewhere else. Yet state law allows stores to sell six-packs only if consumers also may consume beer on the premises.
The Sheetz store in question didn't want to accommodate beer-drinking in the store, prompting the court to rule that state law then prohibited it from selling beer for takeout.
That, of course, is ridiculous. The state Liquor Control Board has managed to expand consumer convenience somewhat. Wegmans supermarkets, for example, sell six-packs for takeout because they have restaurant licenses and allow consumption of beer in that part of the store. The Sheetz case demonstrates that the law itself is obsolete.
Obsolete, but the law nonetheless. And the affected parties even aren't allowed to drown their sorrows as conveniently as the rest of us.
Outdated beer laws cause for consumer hangover [The Daily Review]
(Photo: pbm.)
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I guess if you've gotten thrown out of every other bar in town, you can get blitzed at the local Stop N Shop.
Hey, that's my hometown paper. Weeeird.
The store should put up a cramped booth (like an old phone booth) in a corner and designate it the beer drinking area. It should have no place to sit and be hot and uncomfortable. This would put them in technical compliance with the law, with no particular risk that people would actually drink there.
Looks like 12-packs only at sheetz in PA now?
Not quite a year ago I started working for a company that's headquarted in PA - i'm out there all the time. Their liquor laws are retarded...and I thought my home state of MN's laws were retarded...they simply don't allow liquor stores to be open on Sundays (apparently no one in MN has heard of seperation of church and state).
It's mind-boggling what the beer costs anyway...there's a beer store (not a liqour store mind you - beer, wine, and liquor all happen in different places) next to the hotel I stay at...a 6-pack of pretty much anything costs $10 or more. Basically, what a 12-pack of the same stuff would cost me in MN. Co-workers tell me that's just the way it is.
On the other hand, you can buy 40 oz. bottles of beer (like High Life) or malt liquor (like Colt 45) for as low as $1.80. Which is the price of "Hurricane," which has no flavor but is very cheap. Or splurge and get something with more flavor for $2 to $3.25.
So if the 6-pack you want is $12, a neat $2 per 12 oz., or you can buy a 40 oz. bottle for $2...well, let's just say I am all about the 40 when I'm in PA.
Silly, silly law. I have family who live in PA, near the Maryland border. They don't drink, but when they need a six-pack or two for entertaining, they head to MD instead of letting themselves be forced to buy a whole case at a package store. No doubt many of their neighbors do the same...
Can they remove one bottle and sell them as five packs?
Since the only why I can buy beer without spending a fortune per bottle is to buy it by the case, I'm now a bloated, belligerent alcoholic. Thank you, Pennsylvania!
The law says places that sell six-packs must let customers drink it at the place of purchase.
...wat?
How did that law even get passed in the first place? They say the law is obsolete but that implies the law actually made sense at some point.
So if you have to drink at a bar, I guess drinking and driving is a welcomed thing.
I moved to Texas a few years ago, and I'm in a dry county. Bet you didn't know they still had those eh?! Well, all the bars in the area have to have their own "private" memberships in order to let you in and allow you to consume alcohol on the premises. Thankfully at least of the few of the clubs use the same membership, so you only have to pay the first time you join in a few different places. Oh yeah, on Sundays, nada here either...
i hate religion, it's like a frigging prison for the mind for people of limited intelligence.
I don't believe you can buy beer anywhere in PA unless its in a liquor store. Supermarkets can't even carry it. I saw the most bizarre thing in some of the other states I have visited, like drive through liquor stores.
Devil's advocate:
It's not the court's duty to determine if the law is logical or silly. It is their job to determine ONLY if the law is constitutional.
It is the legislators' duty to pass good laws, and repeal silly ones.
So don't blame the court here. Blame the state legislature.
I don't think so. I'm not entirely familiar with PA laws, but I think your options for beer are buying a case at a beer distributor (basically a store that sells only beer, not hard liquor), or smaller quantities at a restaurant.
@gqcarrick: North Carolina had those drive through liquor stores. Brew Thru's... Ridiculous...! They had tons of them near the beaches, so you could hop in your car, shoeless and shirtless, pick up a case or two of beer(after finishing what you originally brought with you) and head back to the beach or wherever. That was about 6 years ago I saw those stores, that was the deciding lynchpin for realizing the steady decline of our society.
@gqcarrick: Wegman's is a supermarket. They are allowed to sell it because they have a Cafe in their store.
@Murph1908: "Blame the state legislature."
...because they've been legislating as if they've been downing six-packs in convenience stores.
Sorry Pennsylvania, you get no sympathy from me. I went to school just outside of Philly, and sure you can't buy beer at the grocery store, or a convenience store, but you guys have beer distributors, who carry a much wider range of beers.
You joke, but that's what some convenience stores do. In most cases, it's a really crappy "bar" made out of plywood, with maybe a stool or two.
That doesn't stop some of the aged locals from sitting there anyway, drinking and smoking.
@Rectilinear Propagation: I think every law should have an expiration date ("never" would not be an option). Then whatever legislative body that passed it would have to re-evaluate it every once in a while. Then they can update it, continue it, or drop it. Not only would this reduce strange, obsolete laws like this, it would put a sort of theoretical limit on the number of laws any level of government could produce. I mean, you can only go over so many laws each year. It would mean instantly small, unobtrusive government!
WTF, lemme get this straight... you can buy individual bottles (40's and such), 12 packs, and cases, even those 30-packs Genny used to have... just not sixers. It's a retarded law, sure, but I just can't see getting all that mad about it.
In Maryland it was really hard for restaurants to get liquor licenses. However, in most restaurants you could bring in your own wine or beer. So nearly every strip mall with restaurants had one liquor store in the center. So you'd first go to the liquor store, buy the beer or wine you wanted to drink, and then head to the restaurant. It worked, but it made no sense to me.
Thought Ours were silly in SC but wow.
@Cant_stop_the_rock: You can only get it by the case at a beer distributor. Otherwise, it's a 6 pack at restaurants. Same rule goes for mixers. You can't sell mixers where you sell hard spirits, hence why a lot of grocery stores (e.g. the Redner's Market in Hamburg, PA) have a separate state-controlled alcohol store INSIDE the actual grocery store (and all the mixer's are conveniently placed outside the boozamahol store's entrance).
It's a big loophole, but it works. You just have to checkout twice.
@GMFish: because I live in a dry county, a lot of the clubs in the surrounding area are BYOB too...so weird.
The law isn't for sixpacks, its for any beer quantity smaller than a case. And for cases of beer you have to buy them from a distributor. It's just as silly as the Oklahoma law, where I used to live, that allows beer in convenience stores, but it has to be lower than 3%abv, hence the OK+ on all beers over that amount.
I have family in Philly and Bucks county and they just buy beer in NJ. And PA also has a rule about not selling beer on Sunday, which is conveniently when my family needs to drink the most. I'm sure MD, OH, NY, and WV get their fair share of PA residents too. Sucks about those who live in the middle of the state though.
Texas is Wet or Dry by county and precinct. It's always easy to tell when you've driven into a Wet county (or precinct): liquor stores on both sides of the road.
Also, Sunday: beer & wine sales are OK after noon, but no more booze until Monday.
@grapedog: I remember drive-through liquor stores in Florida, but I haven't seen a single one in my area of North Carolina. Must all be out by the beach!
Wow, glad I live in Colorado. We killed the no Sunday law not to long ago. We can buy our liquor 7 days a week, in the same store/bar. We can also opt for 3.2 beer in the convenience stores if the liquor store is closed. But you can't drink it on site next to the Slim Jim rack, you must take it home.
Something that still cracks me up. We are REAL hard on DUI's here, but we have drive-thru liquor stores everywhere. I realize that your not necessarily driving while drinking if you use such service, I just find it funny.
You say it's a "bizarre, ancient" law, but it is (unfortunately) a cornerstone of alcohol sales in Pennsylvania. We Pennsylvania natives know it well: wine and spirits are sold at state-run stores; beer is sold by the case at distributors; and the local bar will have six-packs available for purchase. Simple, easy to understand, and incredibly, freaking stupid.
Various retailers (Sheetz and Weis come to mind) have been purchasing liquor licenses from the state's liquor control board, which has been trying to liberalize alcohol sales within the stodgy old legal framework. They have been establishing separate "eateries" with the express purpose of selling beer. Sneaky, sneaky.
I moved to Ohio a few years ago and was oh-so surprised NOT to see children stumbling drunk in the streets just because I could buy a six-pack next to the bread aisle in Kroger. Now, try convincing the Women's Christian Temperance Union (yup ... still exists) and Pennsylvania's backward, redneck legislature that the precious kids will be safe if Sheetz sells beer. Good luck with that.
Alabama just this year passed a law allowing sale of beer with alcohol content of up to 13.9%abv. Previous limit was 6%. Though, sales are still restricted to container sizes no greater than 16 oz. Although, there are a few exceptions by individual county. Of course, you could always get wine and liqour. So, logic has never been a hallmark of state legislators. Nearly every state has or had strange and illogical alcohol laws on the books after the repeal of Prohibition.
As someone who lives in PA I thought I would comment on this. I too thought this was a stupid law when I first moved to PA about 20 years ago, but now when I travel I realize that it may be the most consumer friendly law ever. Unable to rely on the cheap profits of beer sales to support themselves PA convenience stores are astoundingly better than examples in other states. They are spotlessly clean, have a huge array of good food and every non-alcoholic drink in the world. Because no alcohol is around there are no loiterers. Because they were forced to be good enough to survive without beer the biggest PA chain WaWa is now rapidly expanding along the east coast. Personally I will be very sad if this situation changes. Beer is not really any harder to get in PA than anywhere else and if a couple of bucks a sixpack gives us the nicest convenience stores in the country then I say it is a small price to pay.
@groupie: They changed the law on selling beer on sundays. I believe distributors are allowed to sell beer after noon on sundays if they want to. A lot of them have decided to stay closed though.
It was only a few years ago that PA began to allow the sale of alcohol on Sundays, and that's still in a limited capacity for the distributors and 'state stores.' During my college years in Philly, we ran over to NJ to get our booze on Sunday if we didn't stock up well enough for the weekend. I thought progress was being made. Oh well... eventually they'll get there.
@captadam: First comes drunk children, then dudes marrying dudes, mandatory abortions, and, most terrible of all... they're going to take your guns. As you can see, a very slippery slope!
@ung: You're describing Wawa, Turkey Hill, and Sheetz--the thing is, Sheetz sells beer in their non-PA stores, and they are nice and well stocked as the stores in PA.
Finally an article about this! I went to school in central PA and we could only buy 24 or 30 beer cases at a time, which is fine if you want to buy Natural Light but it was terrible if you wanted to try a different beer. The only way it was affordable was to split up a 24 with a few friends. You also cannot beer in the same store as wine/liquor. The wine/liquor stores are all owned by the state, which is fine I guess cause sometimes there were good sales. Maybe since I was in a college town, they would also record the UPC number of liquor bottles and your driver's license number in case the bottles ended up in the hands of underage students. Needless to say, there were many UPC-less bottles at school.
@cabjf: That's not a bad idea, actually, although there are some laws that shouldn't be subject. (Does the state *really* need to review every ten or 100 years to see if murder, rape, and arson are still illegal?)
@YouDidWhatNow?: Dude...Hurricane? I guess if your only goal is to get drunk and you don't want to enjoy what you're drinking, by all means....
@takes_so_little: I think Sheetz took it up with the court because 6 packs are a staple of convenience stores. It's probably hurting sales not being able to sell them.
@gqcarrick: You buy beer in PA by the case or keg from a beer distributor. You can buy 6 packs to go (2 at a time) from bars. Liquor is sold from a liquor store, also called a State Store because it's run by the PLCB. Liquor is not sold at a beer distributor and beer is not sold at a state store.
When you grow up in PA you're used to the law and just move on with life. There's plenty of places to buy it.
Gods bless you Sheetz. Besides your Schmuffins and awesome stores which are open 24 hours a day and let me get chili cheese dogs at 3am while in college there, y'unz are helping Pennsy people buy their beer in smaller quantities.