A new bill in Florida being proposed will repeal the prohibition against beer tastings at off-premise establishments, like Costco and Publix, where beer is obviously sold.
Florida craft brewers are permitted to have a tasting room next to their brewhouses, but permitting beer tastings at off-premise retailers will no doubt increase sales.
Just like the consumer sampling rules for liquor, the new bill–as proposed at the moment–applies only to distributors and retailers and not to manufacturers. The Florida Beer Wholesalers Association would also like beer makers themselves to be allowed to put on tastings, a practice permissible in most states, so stay tuned as many changes are likely to be proposed before this is signed into law.
Here is the current liquor tasting regulation: “A licensed distributor of spirituous beverages, or any vendor, is authorized to conduct spirituous beverage tastings upon any licensed premises authorized to sell spirituous beverages by package or for consumption on premises without being in violation of s. 561.42, provided that the conduct of the spirituous beverage tasting shall be limited to and directed toward the general public of the age of legal consumption. “