Pa. law is pick-me-up for artisan-alcohol movement

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Christmas came a little early for Robert
Cassell and the rest of Pennsylvania’s nascent craft distilling
industry. And their gift, by extension, is going to be shared
by all spirits-loving Pennsylvanians who like to drink local.

It came in the form of House Bill 242, which Gov. Tom Corbett
signed at his residence Dec. 22. As a whole, this omnibus
legislation is a steaming mash tun of unrelated and seemingly
picayune adjustments to the state’s liquor code, from extending
happy hours to rules for golf course bars.

By Page 34, however, the bill’s original mission is spelled
out: Small distilleries such as Cassell’s Philadelphia
Distilling (maker of Bluecoat gin) have been granted the right
to sell their products directly to the public from tasting
rooms on site.

It’s a privilege the state’s wineries and breweries already
have, as well as small distilleries in nearly 30 other states.
And the ability to become a tourist destination serves as a
crucial marketing tool and revenue boost for these relatively
small stills in a world dominated by Big Liquor.

“In other states that have enacted legislation like this – in
Washington, Michigan, and Oregon – you see a flourishing of
small distilleries,” says Cassell, who’s been working for five
years to get this legislation passed.

Paired with a decrease in the annual distillery licensing fee
(from $5,600 to $1,500), it just might be the economic
incentive needed to make Pennsylvania a new focal point for
growth in a national movement toward artisan alcohol that’s
expanding exponentially on the heels of the craft-beer craze.

Currently, only three distilleries in the state fall under the
aegis of the bill, which applies to those who produce less than
100,000 gallons a year.

But Barry Young of Boyd Blair, a potato vodka distiller
near Pittsburgh, believes others are waiting in the wings.

“It’s going to make Pennsylvania a craft distilling hub,” says
Young, who, with partner Prentiss Orr, also worked to have the
bill passed.

In terms of revenue, Young estimates the direct retail
opportunity could boost his revenue by 25 percent. And though
distillers will not be able to sell their products for less
than the price seen at state-run liquor stores, they will be
able to retain the state’s usual 18 percent markup, Young said:
“It’s significant.”

The notion of distilleries as tourist destinations – and not
simply industrial facilities – has proven to be a powerful draw
to neighborhoods and regions in search of a reviving identity.
In Portland, Ore., for example, the Lower East Side industrial
district is now known as Distillery Row, home to seven
distillers pouring samples of more than 20 spirits to tourists
who arrive by the busload to their tasting rooms.

In rural areas such as Maxwelton, W. Va., where Smooth Ambler
Spirits sits just nine miles from the Greenbrier resort,
co-owner John Little says the ability to embrace the tourist
trade is so strong, “at least half our business is sold out of
our retail store.”

Being able to sell the “high-valley mountain air” story and
“friendly folks” behind a small-production “grain-to-glass”
spirit directly to consumers is essential for small players in
a retail field dominated by deep-pocketed liquor companies. It
also emphasizes the character of these businesses as
essentially local artisans.

“You have a better chance of being successful as a quality
local brand rather than trying to be the next big thing,”
Little says.

The ripple effect on local economies shouldn’t be
underestimated.

“Now I’m hiring people to run a retail shop,” said Cassell,
who, once the law comes into effect in February, will also have
the ability to open two satellite locations with food
operations.

The impact is even greater simply from the raw materials
required for the production of the spirits, as Boyd Blair
buys its “chipper” potatoes from Schuylkill County and
Philadelphia Distilling sources rye and corn for its products
in-state, too.

That creative synergy with local ingredients will be even more
heightened – and more seasonal – now that distillers will have
venues to sell small batches of one-off products.

“I can look at what farmers have in the fall and make a
brandy,” Young says.

“I’m going to buy a couple acres of cherries from a farm in my
hometown of Boyertown to make eau de vie,” says Cassell,
suddenly riffing on the possibilities. “Or I could make a batch
of single-farmer rye. And I’ll finally have a place to sell a
re-creation of early 19th century bitters I’m working on with
Bartram’s Garden. In fact, they’re supposed to have just peeled
a bunch of bark off some prickly ash trees for me.”

Pennsylvanians, someday soon, will be able to visit
Philadelphia Distilling’s headquarters in Northeast Philly and
drink to that.

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Online: https://bit.ly/y2IELf

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Information from: The Philadelphia Inquirer,
https://www.philly.com