Current Situation
The Florida
Brewers Guild is the nonprofit trade association committed to preserving
the rights and interests of all craft brewers throughout the state.
Recently, the very industry we work to protect has come under attack.
Retail and distributor groups filed a lawsuit against the Division
of Alcoholic Beverages mid-January. We are happy to report that this lawsuit has been dropped - FL Craft Brewers - 1, Our Opposition - 0.
It is anticipated that the Division will
officially notice intent to engage in rulemaking on the disputed rules. We are pleased that this ludicrous challenge has been withdrawn, but
know we are entering a new forum where mischief can occur.
What We Need
The
Florida Brewers Guild is committed to protecting our members and the craft beer
industry, and we will be intimately involved with the Division during
rulemaking. As recent trends demonstrate, we anticipate that our
opponents in the industry will try to cause trouble during this process, and we
will be ready to fight.
As
far as legal contributions are concerned we offer a sincere
THANK YOU to all that have donated! Please continue to spread the word and keep the support coming.
Although the administrative challenge is over, we are not out of the woods yet. Any contributions received from this campaign will be earmarked and used directly for mounting legal defense, legal
offense, and lobbying.
The Impact
We continued to be shocked that retailers and distributors would try to invalidate
breweries tasting rooms. Perhaps they fail to comprehend the serious implications it could have on the entire Florida
brewing industry?
- Damage to 100+ small, locally-owned businesses throughout the state.
- Loss of more than 875 million dollars in revenue.
- Drastic change to the tourism landscape of the state's most popular destinations.
Other Ways You Can Help
By
uniting those that represent craft beer in Florida we can ensure that our voice
is represented, and heard.
- Share our message with your fellow craft beer lovers. We have a minor victory under our belt, but continue to need the support of our entire beer community if we have a chance for success moving forward and into session.
- Visit your neighborhood craft breweries. Let them know how much you appreciate them being part of your community!
- Make some noise about this campaign - share the message with your fellow craft beer lovers. Use the Indiegogo share tools!
- Reach out to your local politicians and ask for their support of craft beer as tourism in Florida. http://flsenate.gov/Senators/Find
Together, we will create positive change.
Donations via check are also welcome. Please make payable to 'Florida Brewers Guild' and mail to the following address: c/o Florida Brewers Guild | Post Office Box 523 | Cape Canaveral, FL | 32920.
